Syria's de facto leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, walks in the presidential palace ahead of his meeting with Walid Ellafi, Libyan minister of state for communication and political affairs, in Damascus, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)2025-01-29T19:00:03Z DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) The Syrian factions that toppled President Bashar Assad last month named an Islamist former rebel leader as the countrys interim president on Wednesday in a push to project a united front as they face the monumental task of rebuilding Syria after nearly 14 years of civil war.The former insurgents also threw out Syrias constitution, adopted under Assad, saying a new charter would be drafted soon.The appointment of Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was once aligned with al-Qaida, as Syrias president in the transitional phase came after a meeting of the former insurgent factions in Damascus, the Syrian capital. The announcement was made by the spokesperson for Syrias new, de facto governments military operations sector, Col. Hassan Abdul Ghani, the state-run SANA news agency said. The exact mechanism under which the factions selected al-Sharra as interim president was not clear. Formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, al-Sharaa is the head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which led the lightning offensive that toppled Assad in early December. The group was once affiliated with al-Qaida but has since denounced its former ties. In recent years, al-Sharaa has sought to cast himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance and promised to protect the rights of women and religious minorities.The United States had previously placed a $10 million bounty on al-Sharaa but canceled it last month after a U.S. delegation visited Damascus and met with him. Top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf said after the meeting that al-Sharaa came across as pragmatic. Speaking at Wednesdays meeting, al-Sharaa, who was in military uniform, stressed the heavy task and a great responsibility that Syrias new rulers face.If the victor is arrogant after his victory and forgets the favor of Allah upon him, it will lead him to tyranny, he said, according to a video released hours later. Among the priorities for rebuilding Syria, he said, will be filling the power vacuum legitimately and legally and maintaining civil peace by seeking transitional justice and preventing revenge attacks in the wake of Assads disastrous reign. Syrians took to the streets in Damascus and elsewhere to celebrate the announcement, honking car horns and in some cases firing in the air. Many expressed support for al-Sharaa. This person is someone who is intelligent and has a good understanding and he was the leader of the battle that freed Syria, said Abdallah al-Sweid, who was among those celebrating at Umayyad Square in Damascus. He is someone who deserves to be president.Others even those who had rejoiced at Assads ouster appeared critical of the way the appointment was made and the lack of clarity on next steps.The problem is not in the decisions. The problem is in the timing, the previous promises and the confusion, said Mohammad Salim Alkhateb, an official with the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces a group formed by members of the opposition to Assad in exile. Qatar was the first to react to al-Sharaas appointment, which had been expected, saying it welcomed decisions aimed at enhancing consensus and unity among all Syrian parties. The statement added that this should help pave the way for a peaceful transfer of power through a comprehensive political process.Western nations, although they have moved to restore ties with Damascus after Assad was overthrown, are still somewhat circumspect about Syrias new Islamist rulers. Abdul Ghani, the spokesman, also announced Wednesday that Syrias constitution adopted in 2012, under Assads rule was annulled. He said al-Sharaa would be authorized to form a temporary legislative council until a new constitution is drafted.All the armed factions in the country would be disbanded, Abdul Ghani said, and would be absorbed into state institutions. Since Assads fall, HTS has become the de facto ruling party and has set up an interim government largely composed of officials from the local government it previously ran in rebel-held Idlib province. The interim authorities have promised they would launch an inclusive process to set up a new government and constitution, including convening a national dialogue conference and invite Syrias different communities, though no date has been set.As the former Syrian army collapsed with Assads downfall, al-Sharaa has called for creation of a new unified national army and security forces, but questions have loomed over how the interim administration can bring together a patchwork of former rebel groups, each with their own leaders and ideology.Even knottier is the question of the U.S.-backed Kurdish groups that have carved out an autonomous enclave early in Syrias civil war, never fully siding with the Assad government or the rebels seeking to topple him. Since Assads fall, there has been an escalation in clashes between the Kurdish forces and Turkish-backed armed groups allied with HTS in northern Syria. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces were not present at Wednesdays meeting of the countrys armed factions Wednesday and there was no immediate comment from the group.At the World Economic Forums annual meeting in Davos this month, Asaad al-Shibani, Syrias new foreign minister and HTS official, said the country needs the international communitys help as it begins rebuilding after the brutal civil war.___Sewell reported from Beirut. ABBY SEWELL Sewell is the Associated Press news director for Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. She joined the AP in 2022 but has been based in the region since 2016, reporting and guiding coverage on some of its most significant news stories. twitter mailto

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's choice to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, appears before the Senate Finance Committee for his confirmation hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)2025-01-29T21:56:04Z WASHINGTON (AP) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was pressed to clarify his views on vaccines, abortion and public health priorities in the first of two Senate hearings as he tries to make the case to become President Donald Trumps health secretary.Kennedy is seeking to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, the $1.7 trillion agency that funds medical research, public health outreach, food and drug safety, hospital oversight, funding for community health care clinics as well as Medicare and Medicaid.Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee expressed hope Kennedy could help reduce chronic diseases and health care costs. Democrats repeatedly used quotes and transcripts from his books and public appearances to pin him down on several issues, especially vaccines and abortion. Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, argued that from abortion to universal health care, Mr. Kennedy has changed his views so often its nearly impossible to know where he stands. On Thursday Kennedy will appear before the Senates Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee.Some takeaways from Wednesdays hearing: Senators wanted to know: Where does Kennedy stand on vaccines now?Kennedy insisted hes not opposed to vaccines despite a long history of calling them dangerous and Democrats werent buying it.Frankly you frighten people, said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.I am not anti-vaccine, Kennedy told the committee. He also said, I support the measles vaccine. I support the polio vaccine. I will do nothing as HHS secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking either of those vaccines. But before he was nominated, Kennedy sought to discredit vaccines. He has said COVID shots are a crime against humanity, told FOX News he still believes in the debunked idea that vaccines can cause autism, and urged people in 2021 to resist CDC guidelines on when kids should get vaccines.And during the hearing Kennedy said that most experts agree that 6-year-olds shouldnt get COVID-19 vaccines because theyre not at risk. Thats not true of the experts who set vaccine policy: The Food and Drug Administration authorized COVID-19 shots for children as young as age 6 months and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends children get vaccinated. Most experts agree that COVID vaccines are safe and effective for children, Dr. James Campbell of the American Academy of Pediatrics said after hearing Kennedys remark.Sen. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat from New Hampshire, grilled Kennedy about changing his position.There is no reason that any of us should believe that you have reversed the anti-vaccine views that you have promoted for 25 years, she said. Kennedy was pressed on his shifting views on abortionKennedys nomination has been met with criticism from both abortion rights advocates and anti-abortion forces as his stance seemed to have shifted. During the hearing, several Democrats pushed Kennedy about changing his views to better appeal to Trump. Ive never seen any major politician flip on that issue quite as quickly as you did when Trump asked you to be HHS secretary, said Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat from Colorado, questioned Kennedys shifting views on abortion by quoting his previous statements that abortion should be left up to the pregnant woman, not the government. Hassan said she was confused: You have clearly stated in the past that bodily autonomy is one of your core values. The question is: Do you stand for this value or not? Kennedy repeatedly leaned on the phrase: I have always believed abortion is a tragedy including during questioning from Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma.Republicans expressed hope Kennedy could fix a troubled health care systemIn his opening remarks, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo, the Finance committees chairman, praised Kennedys commitment to combatting chronic conditions and said prioritizing disease prevention will save lives, reduce costs and build a healthier, stronger country.Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who was vocal in criticizing vaccine requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, brought up a conversation he had with Kennedy when the former Democrat was considering joining forces with Trump. The senator called it an answer to his prayers.We need to heal and unify this divided nation, Johnson said. Cant we come together as a nation and do this? Kennedy repeatedly called for more research on long-established therapiesAgain and again on Wednesday, Kennedy suggested he simply wants to do more research on vaccines, drugs and other products that have already been vigorously studied by government and independent scientists.Kennedy said that Trump asked him to study the safety of mifepristone, the abortion pill that has been used more than 6 million times in the U.S. to terminate pregnancies.The FDA approved the drug in 2000 after a four-year review and has repeatedly reaffirmed its safety after reviewing dozens of studies in tens of thousands of women.Here are the safety studies that tell us mifepristone is safe and effective, Hassan said, brandishing a pile of what she said were 40 of them. Kennedy again called for additional research when questioned about his unsupported claims that increased school shootings could be related to higher prescribing of antidepressants.Kennedy said his remarks were misrepresented and that he was suggesting antidepressants might play a role among other factors, such as social media.I dont think anyone can answer that question right now Kennedy said.Antidepressants and other prescription drugs are subject to multiple, large clinical trials that evaluate their safety and efficacy before they are approved. Additionally, the FDA has multiple systems for monitoring emerging side effects with drugs after they are on the market and regularly issues updates and alerts to address risks.On Alzheimers, Kennedy also misstated the state of the science and research.A sticky gunk called amyloid plays a role in Alzheimers disease but Kennedy wrongly claimed the National Institutes of Health ignores any other potential culprits.The NIH shut down studies of any other hypothesis, Kennedy said.But the NIHs $3.8 billion budget for Alzheimers and similar dementias includes researching a range of other factors that may underlie how Alzheimers develops.Senators used Kennedys own words against himReading from podcast transcripts and his own writings, Bennet asked Kennedy about his prior statement that COVID-19 was engineered to target white and Black people while sparing Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.Kennedy denied saying it was deliberately targeted. Bennet also asked Kennedy about a claim that Lyme disease is likely a militarily engineered bioweapon.I probably did say that, Kennedy responded.___Associated Press writer Amanda Seitz contributed to this report. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump listens as former Republican presidential candidate, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, speaks on stage during a campaign event in Laconia, N.H., Jan. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)2025-01-30T19:19:28Z BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) When North Dakotas petroleum association was going to hold a banquet honoring top fracking executives last year, it turned to Gov. Doug Burgum. The two-term Republican, now President Donald Trumps pick to lead the Interior Department, co-hosted the event at the governors mansion. And when energy industry lobbyists were looking for help taking on Biden administration greenhouse gas rules, they also turned to Burgum. In an email to Burgums office seeking the legal heft the state could provide, an industry lobbyist argued that combating such regulations required a one-two punch from industry and government. While it is not surprising that the governor of the third-largest oil producing state would have a close relationship with fossil fuel producers, records obtained by the Associated Press reveal Burgums administration eagerly assisted the industry even as the governor was profiting from the lease of family land to oil companies. And his assistance came at a time when Burgum was leaning on those very connections to build his national profile in the Republican Party. If confirmed to run the Interior Department as soon as Thursday Burgum will have vast control over federal lands, including the issuance of oil and gas leases, as well as a mandate from Trump to extract such resources even though the U.S. is producing record amounts of fossil fuels. Those ties concern Democrats and environmentalists who say his zeal to expand drilling was troubling. Are you going to protect our resources, or are you going to drill, baby, drill? Sen. Mazie Hirono, a Hawaii Democrat, asked during Burgums confirmation hearing this month. The selection of Burgum, who briefly pursued the presidency in 2023 before endorsing Trump, represents an abrupt pivot from Bidens emphasis on combating climate change. It also signals that Trump intends to follow through on a proposal made last spring when he urged oil and gas CEOs to donate $1 billion to his campaign in exchange for the dismantling of Bidens environmental agenda. The White House did not respond to a request for comment, and a spokesman for Burgum declined to make him available for an interview. Governor Burgum worked tirelessly to build a prosperous economy in North Dakota, spokesman Rob Lockwood said in a statement. This economic growth included sustainably developing natural resources. As governor, he met with job creators and leaders who generated opportunities for the people of North Dakota.Under the partisan glare of Washington, and faced with stricter federal ethics rules governing conflicts of interest, Burgum has pledged to sell his interest in his familys lease with the shale oil giant Continental Resources, as well as another one with Hess, a Chevron subsidiary. He has also pledged to sell stock held in a handful of energy companies, some of which he interacted with as governor, which are worth as much as $200,000 according to his 2023 financial disclosures. Close ties to an industry titanThere is perhaps no better demonstration of Burgums close ties to oil and gas producers than his friendship with Harold Hamm, the founder of Continental Resources who is responsible for much of North Dakotas fracking boom. The billionaire Oklahoma wildcatter advises Trump on energy policy and is widely viewed as playing a role in helping Burgum secure the nomination to lead Interior.Hamm did not respond to a request for comment made through his company. During his 2023 state-of-the-state speech, Burgum likened Hamm to Teddy Roosevelt for his grit, resilience, hard work and determination that he said changed North Dakota and our nation. The shout-out came after Hamm had donated $50 million toward a library honoring Roosevelt in western North Dakota a passion project of Burgums. The documents obtained by AP reveal that several months later Hamm gifted Burgum a set of cuff links along with a note thanking Burgum for his friendship and willingness to take a break from the grueling task of running for president to speak at an energy conference that Hamm had hosted in Oklahoma City. These were not his only displays of patronage. Though Burgum, an independently wealthy former software company CEO, had a dim chance of winning the Republican presidential primary, Hamms Continental Resources contributed $250,000 in the summer of 2023 to a super PAC supporting Burgum, campaign finance disclosures show. He also contributed to Burgums campaign for governor.Emails between Burgum and Hamms offices reveal the two communicated often. In a May 2020 email, Hamms executive assistant asked if Burgum had time to talk with Hamm and shared a briefing document that railed against wind power, blasting wind turbines as a blight on our special places and sacred lands while excoriating tax breaks for wind energy providers as unconscionable. This does NOTHING to Make America Great Again! the document states. Though Burgum set a goal in 2021 to make North Dakota carbon neutral by 2030, he has adopted Hamms tone. During his Senate confirmation hearing this month, he was dismissive of renewable energy, such as wind power, suggesting such sources were unreliable when compared to fossil fuels. In early 2023, as Hamm prepared to publish a memoir, Continental lobbyist Blu Hulsey emailed to ask if Burgum could write a blurb praising the book, the newly obtained records show. Burgum happily complied, heaping praise on the memoir, which the governor called an inspiring story worthy of sharing. Burgum added that Hamms impact was immeasurable. Ethics experts say there are other aspects of their relationship that pose a greater conflict of interest. As governor, Burgum never disclosed that his family leased roughly 200 acres of farmland to Continental for well drilling, as previously reported by CNBC. When Burgum ran for president and faced greater transparency requirements, he revealed making $50,000 in royalties from Continental in 2023. Despite this relationship, Burgum routinely took action that benefited Hamms company. As chairman of North Dakotas Industrial Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry, he voted nearly a dozen times or more on measures that had favorable outcomes for Continental, records show. North Dakota is a leading energy producing state, Lockwood, the Burgum spokesman said. Tens of thousands of families and mineral owners have similar arrangements. As the publicly available disclosures show: the cited agreement began many years before he became governor.Burgum also used the governors office to support a proposed pipeline that received $250 million in financial backing from Hamm. If completed, it will transport earth-warming CO2 gas that is the byproduct of ethanol fuel production to North Dakota, where it will be stored deep underground. Its been touted as a way to decarbonize the atmosphere, but has also run into stiff resistance from landowners, who fear their property will be seized to complete the project.Sarah Vogel, a Democrat and former North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner who previously sat on the commission, said Burgum seemed more like a cheerleader of the industry than a regulator. I dont think he had a regulators mindset. He had a promoters mindset, which has probably made him beloved in the oil and gas industry, Vogel said.Other executives have ties to BurgumHamm is not the only oil executive or lobbyist who has cultivated ties with Burgum, emails and office schedules show. Ryan Berger, a lobbyist for Occidental Petroleum, emailed Burgums staff last year seeking a meeting for Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub after Burgum moderated a panel she participated in at an oil industry conference. In an ideal world, a face-to-face over lunch or dinner would be amazing, Berger wrote in a May 2024 email. He added that Hollub had recently discussed energy issues directly with President Trump and we thought you would benefit from hearing from her to see if there are mutually shared policies and perspectives that could be amplified this year.Berger declined to comment on the email. Lockwood, the spokesman, declined to say if Burgum a meeting with Hollub happened. The records revealed that a Whos Who of oil executives had calls scheduled with Burgum. The include: CEOs of Chevron and Exxon; Marathon Oil officials had an audience with Burgum in 2022; and the governor also spoke before the Hess Corporations board of directors dinner. Burgums family also has an oil lease with Hess that paid him as much as $1,000, according to his financial disclosure. Burgum turned down an invitation to address an American Petroleum Institute convention in Washington, the records show, but agreed to speak at a private dinner for the American Exploration and Production Council in 2023, which drew top executives from Conoco Phillips, Devon Energy, Hilcorp and others. When Burgum was a leading contender last year to be Trumps vice presidential pick, he co-hosted a banquet at the governors mansion with the North Dakota Petroleum Council that drew fracking industry heavy hitters, lobbyists and executives. Burgum, Hamm and Chris Wright, the CEO of Liberty Energy who is now Trumps pick for energy secretary, addressed attendees as they dined on beef, walleye cakes and bourbon caramel-topped cobbler.On Inauguration Day, Burgum declined an invitation to attend a party at the posh Hay-Adams Hotel that was hosted by Hamm and a number of petroleum trade associations and oil companies. Burgums presence may not have been missed. Many of those executives and lobbyists, who will have business before the Interior Department, can reach him.___Slodysko reported from Washington. BRIAN SLODYSKO Slodysko is an investigative reporter for the Associated Press based in Washington. mailto JACK DURA Dura covers the North Dakota state government for The Associated Press. He is based in Bismarck, North Dakota. twitter mailto

Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's choice to be the Director of National Intelligence, arrives to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee for her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)2025-01-30T05:06:12Z WASHINGTON (AP) Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trumps pick to be director of national intelligence, faced sharp criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike Thursday during a fiery confirmation hearing focused on her past comments sympathetic to Russia, a meeting with Syrias now-deposed leader and her past support for government leaker Edward Snowden.Gabbard started her hearing by telling lawmakers that big changes are needed to address years of failures of Americas intelligence service. She said too often intelligence has been false or politicized, leading to wars, foreign policy failures and the misuse of espionage. And she said those lapses have continued as the U.S. faces renewed threats from Russia and China.The bottom line is this must end. President Trumps reelection is a clear mandate from the American people to break this cycle of failure and the weaponization and politicization of the intelligence community, Gabbard told the Senate Intelligence Committee. Gabbard promised to be objective and noted her military service, saying she would bring the same sense of duty and responsibility to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees and coordinates the work of 18 intelligence agencies. The questions raised by senators about Gabbards judgment and experience make her one of the more contentious of Trumps Cabinet nominees. Given thin Republican margins in the Senate, she will need almost all GOP senators to vote yes in order to win confirmation. A former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, Gabbard is a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard who deployed twice to the Middle East and ran for president in 2020. She has no formal intelligence experience, however, and has never run a government agency or department. Its Gabbards comments, however, that have posed the biggest challenge to her confirmation. She has repeatedly echoed Russian propaganda used to justify the Kremlins invasion of Ukraine and in the past opposed a key U.S. surveillance program. In a back-and-forth Thursday that at times grew heated, lawmakers from both parties raised concerns about her statements supportive of Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor who fled to Russia after he was charged with revealing classified information about surveillance programs.Several senators, including Republicans James Lankford of Oklahoma and Susan Collins of Maine, pressed Gabbard on whether she would push to pardon Snowden, or whether she considered him a traitor. On the last question, Gabbard repeatedly declined to answer.Yes or no, is Edward Snowden a traitor to the United States of America? asked Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado.As someone who has served in uniform in combat, I understand how critical our national security is, Gabbard responded, before Bennet cut her off, saying Apparently, you dont.Gabbard said that while Snowden revealed important facts about surveillance programs she believes are unconstitutional, he violated rules about protecting classified secrets. Edward Snowden broke the law, she said. Gabbard has been accused of spreading Russian disinformation by Republican lawmakers and has even won praise in Russian state-controlled media. Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, asked Gabbard on Thursday whether Russia would get a pass from her.Senator Im offended by the question, Gabbard responded. Because my sole focus, commitment and responsibility is about our own nation, our own security and the interests of the American people.A 2017 visit with Syrian President Bashar Assad is another point of contention. Assad was recently deposed as his countrys leader following a brutal civil war in which he was accused of using chemical weapons. Following her visit, Gabbard faced criticism that she was legitimizing a dictator and then more questions when she said she was skeptical that Assad had used chemical weapons.I just do not understand show you can blame NATO for (Russian President Vladimir) Putins brutal invasion of Ukraine, and when Assad used chemical weapons against his own people, you didnt condemn him, said the committees senior Democrat, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia. Gabbard defended her meeting with Assad, saying she used the opportunity to press the Syrian leader on his human rights record.I asked him tough questions about his own regimes actions, Gabbard said.Senators also pressed her about her changing views of the surveillance program known as Section 702, which allows authorities to collect the communications of suspected terrorists overseas. As a lawmaker, Gabbard sponsored legislation that would have repealed it. She argued then that the program could be violating the rights of Americans whose communications are swept up inadvertently, but national security officials say the program has saved lives. She now says she supports the program, noting new safeguards designed to protect Americans privacy.Gabbard defended her change of opinion, and said her critics are opposed to her nomination because she asks tough questions and doesnt always follow Washington dogma.The fact is what truly unsettles my political opponents is that I refuse to be their puppet, she said.Gabbard is among a couple of nominees who are facing more difficultly gaining unanimous support from Republican senators. Sens. Todd Young, Susan Collins and James Lankford were among the most aggressive questioners Thursday, but it remained unclear if they were satisfied enough by her responses to move her out of committee and confirm her on the Senate floor. The committee has not yet scheduled a vote. There has been much discussion over whether the committee vote on Gabbard should be made in public or in private as the panel usually operates. Many of Trumps supporters want it to be public to pressure any GOP senator who is considering opposing her nomination.Sen. Tom Cotton, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, supports Gabbards nomination and said at the start of Thursdays hearing that he hopes she can rein in an office that he said has grown too large and bureaucratic.Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, noted that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is now larger, in terms of staffing, than any of the agencies it was created to oversee.Look at where conventional thinking has got us. Maybe Washington could use a little more unconventional thinking, Cotton said. Ms. Gabbard, I submit that, if confirmed, the measure of your success will largely depend on whether you can return the ODNI to its original size, scope, and mission.__Associated Press writers Ellen Knickmeyer and Byron Tau contributed to this report. FARNOUSH AMIRI Amiri covers Congress for The Associated Press, with a focus on foreign policy and congressional investigations. She previously covered politics for AP as a statehouse reporter based in Columbus, Ohio. twitter mailto

Subscribe Join the newsletter to get the latest updates. Success Great! Check your inbox and click the link. Error Please enter a valid email address. At an all hands meeting inside Meta Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg did not address Metas $25 million settlement with Donald Trump that will see the company paying $22 million for the eventual establishment of the Trump Presidential Library. But Zuckerberg did say that he had to be increasingly careful about what he says internally at Meta because everything I say leaks. And it sucks, right?Meta made changes to the question-and-answer section of the company all hands meeting because of the leaks, Zuckerberg said, according to meeting audio obtained by 404 Media.I want to be able to be able to talk about stuff openly, but I am also trying to like, well, were trying to build stuff and create value in the world, not destroy value by talking about stuff that inevitably leaks, he said. So rather than take direct questions, the company used a poll system, where questions asked beforehand were voted on so that main themes of questions were addressed.There are a bunch of things that I think are value-destroying for me to talk about, so Im not going to talk about those. But I think itll be good. You all can give us feedback later, he added. Maybe its just the nature of running a company at scale, but its a little bit of a bummer.

Datasets aggregated on data.gov, the largest repository of U.S. government open data on the internet, are being deleted, according to the websites own information. Since Donald Trump was inaugurated as president, more than 2,000 datasets have disappeared from the database. As people in the Data Hoarding and archiving communities have pointed out, on January 21, there were 307,854 datasets on data.gov. As of Thursday, there are 305,564 datasets. Many of the deletions happened immediately after Trump was inaugurated, according to snapshots of the website saved on the Internet Archives Wayback Machine. Harvard University researcher Jack Cushman has been taking snapshots of Data.govs datasets both before and after the inauguration, and has worked to create a full archive of the data.Because data.gov is an aggregator that doesnt always host the data itself, this doesnt always mean that the data itself has been deleted, that it doesnt exist elsewhere on federal government websites, or that it wont be re-hosted elsewhere. Further research will be necessary to determine what has happened to any given dataset, or to see if it turns up elsewhere on a government website. For example, 404 Media found some datasets in Cushmans analysis that are no longer accessible on data.gov but can still be found on individual agency websites; we also found some datasets that seem to still exist because data.gov links to working websites but give a file-not-found error message when trying to download the file itself.Disproportionately, the datasets that are no longer accessible through the portal come from the Department of Energy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of the Interior, NASA, and the Environmental Protection Agency. But determining what is actually gone and what has simply moved or is backed up elsewhere by the government is a manual task, and it's too early to say for sure what is gone and what may have been renamed or updated with a newer version.This is because data.gov doesnt always host the data that it is indexing. Sometimes the data is hosted directly on data.gov, but other times it links to an individual agencys website, where the data is actually hosted. This means archiving and analyzing data.gov is not straightforward.Some of [the entries link to] actual data, Cushman told 404 Media. And some of them link to a landing page [where the data is hosted]. And the question iswhen things are disappearing, is it the data it points to that is gone? Or is it just the index to it thats gone?For example, National Coral Reef Monitoring Program: Water Temperature Data from Subsurface Temperature Recorders (STRs) deployed at coral reef sites in the Hawaiian Archipelago from 2005 to 2019, a NOAA dataset, can no longer be found on data.gov but can be found on one of NOAAs websites by Googling the title.Stetson Flower Garden Banks Benthic_Covage Monitoring 1993-2018 - OBIS Event, another NOAA dataset, can no longer be found on data.gov and also appears to have been deleted from the internet. Three Dimensional Thermal Model of Newberry Volcano, Oregon, a Department of Energy resource, is no longer available via the Department of Energy but can be found backed up on third-party websites.Determining what is gone, why its gone, and where it went seems like it would be straightforward, and it would seem like you could attribute all of it to malice on the part of an administration that has declared war on climate change and government equity efforts. But archivists who have been working on analyzing the deletions and archiving the data it held say that while some of the deletions are surely malicious information scrubbing, some are likely routine artifacts of an administration change, and they are working to determine which is which. For example, in the days after Joe Biden was inaugurated, data.gov showed about 1,000 datasets being deleted as compared to a day before his inauguration, according to the Wayback Machine.Because of the overall large number of datasets as well as the way that data.gov works, it is still too early to say what, specifically, has been deleted, though archivists and academics like Cushman are working on triaging the situation. It can reasonably be surmised that climate and environmental research and data, as well as research about marginalized communities and minorities are among the datasets that have been purged. This is in part because the Trump administration deleted huge swaths of climate data during his first term, and because Trump issued an executive order asking all federal agencies to delete anything related to diversity, equity and inclusion.Data.gov serves as an aggregator of datasets and research across the entire government, meaning it isnt a single database. This makes it slightly harder to archive than any individual database, according to Mark Phillips, a University of Northern Texas researcher who works on the End of Term Web Archive, a project that archives as much as possible from government websites before a new administration takes over.Some of this falls into the We dont know what we dont know, Phillips told 404 Media. It is very challenging to know exactly what, where, how often it changes, and what is new, gone, or going to move. Saving content from an aggregator like data.gov is a bit more challenging for the End of Term work because often the data is only identified and registered as a metadata record with data.gov but the actual data could live on another website, a state .gov, a university website, cloud provider like Amazon or Microsoft or any other location. This makes the crawling even more difficult.Phillips said that, for this round of archiving (which the team does every administration change), the project has been crawling government websites since January 2024, and that they have been doing large-scale crawls with help from our partners at the Internet Archive, Common Crawl, and the University of North Texas. Weve worked to collect 100s of terabytes of web content, which includes datasets from domains like data.gov.The Environmental Data & Governance Institute (EDGI) published a report in 2019 detailing How the Trump administration has undermined federal web infrastructures for climate information, which included not just deleting datasets but also, in some cases, not deleting datasets but deleting the links to them, changing descriptions of them, or making them much harder to find. For example, during Trumps first term, the Department of Transportations information on climate change was deleted, republished in a different form elsewhere, then deleted again from that new place, the report found.James Jacobs, a Stanford Libraries researcher who also works with a group called Free Government Information, told 404 Media in an email that data.gov has always been kind of a government data junk drawer (I call it that lovingly ;-)). That is, it was a really great effort to get the vast federal apparatus to start to think about collecting and preserving data. But there are no specific regulations that tell agencies that they *have to* use data.gov. Some agencies use it heavily, some put up a few excel spreadsheets and called it a day.I assume some of those datasets in data.gov have bad urls to old agency pages that no longer exist (its really problematic when an agency decides to redesign its site and its base domain changes and all the links to important information and data are broken), Jacobs added. Some of it is probably link rot and content drift and some of it is no doubt Trump admin policy driven (e.g. anything having to do with DEI).Harvards Cushman said that, because this is the internet, there are always things that are being added, breaking, changing, or vanishing, and that some of this happens on purpose and some of it happens on accident. So determining what is being purged, when there are so many data points, is not always trivial. If you want to answer why any given thing is gone, it becomes an individual research question. Cushman said he is working on compiling this info now and will publish it soon.All of this is to say that even under the best circumstances, government datasets and research can get lost or deleted, and archiving it is not always easy. When an administration specifically makes a point of deleting research, this already fragile ecosystem is stressed even further. All of these suddenly disappeared datasets must be taken in with the context that we know the Trump administration has ordered agencies to delete and edit specific webpages, and 404 Medias own reporting has shown targeted deletions of pages relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as climate change.In a post from this week on Free Government Information, Jacobs explained that the government information crisis is bigger than you think.There is a difference between the government changing a policy and the government erasing information, but the line between those two has blurred in the digital age, Jacobs wrote. He explained that before the internet, government documents were printed and were archived by being distributed among many different libraries as part of the Federal Depository Library Program. The internet has made a lot of government information more accessible, but it has also made it a lot more fragile.In the print era, libraries did a good (but not perfect) job of preservation through inertia (ie collect and catalog a document, put it on a shelf, and leave it there until a patron wanted it), Jacobs told 404 Media in an email. In the digital era, that system of distribution/preservation/access has broken down because digital publications are no longer distributed to libraries, and government entities a) publish a LOT more on the internet; but b) have no clear regulations or policies regarding preservation.It is absolutely true that the Trump administration is deleting government data and research and is making it harder to access. But determining what is gone, where it went, whether its been preserved somewhere, and why it was taken down is a process that is time intensive and going to take a while.One thing that is clear to me about datasets coming down from data.gov is that when we rely on one place for collecting, hosting, and making available these datasets, we will always have an issue with data disappearing, Phillips said. Historically the federal government would distribute information to libraries across the country to provide greater access and also a safeguard against loss. That isn't done in the same way for this government data.

Tigers are visible at the Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur, India on April 12, 2015. (AP Photo/Satyajeet Singh Rathore, File)2025-01-30T19:02:16Z BENGALURU, India (AP) India doubled its tiger population in a little over a decade by protecting the big cats from poaching and habitat loss, ensuring they have enough prey, reducing human-wildlife conflict, and increasing communities living standards near tiger areas, a study published Thursday found.The number of tigers grew from an estimated 1,706 tigers in 2010 to around 3,682 in 2022, according to estimates by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, making India home to roughly 75% of the global tiger population. The study found that some local communities near tiger habitats have also benefited from the increase in tigers because of the foot traffic and revenues brought in by ecotourism.The study in the journal Science says Indias success offers important lessons for tiger-range countries that conservation efforts can benefit both biodiversity and nearby communities. The common belief is that human densities preclude an increase in tiger populations, said Yadvendradev Jhala, a senior scientist at Bengaluru-based Indian National Academy of Sciences and the studys lead author. What the research shows is that its not the human density, but the attitude of people, which matters more. Wildlife conservationists and ecologists welcomed the study but said that tigers and other wildlife in India would benefit if source data were made available to a larger group of scientists. The study was based on data collected by Indian government-supported institutions. A Royal Bengal tiger drags a wild boar after killing it at the Ranthambhore national park in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, India, on June 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Deepak Sharma, File) A Royal Bengal tiger drags a wild boar after killing it at the Ranthambhore national park in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, India, on June 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Deepak Sharma, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Arjun Gopalaswamy, an ecologist with expertise in wildlife population estimation, said estimates from Indias official tiger monitoring program have been chaotic and contradictory. He said some of the figures in the study are significantly higher than previous estimates of tiger distribution from the same datasets. But he added that the papers findings seem to have corrected an anomaly flagged repeatedly by scientists since 2011 related to tiger population size and their geographic spread. Tigers disappeared in some areas that were not near national parks, wildlife sanctuaries or other protected areas, and in areas that witnessed increased urbanization, increased human use of forest resources and higher frequency of armed conflicts, the study said. Without community support and participation and community benefits, conservation is not possible in our country, said Jhala. Tigers are spread across around 138,200 square kilometers (53,359 square miles) in India, about the size of the state of New York. But just 25% of the area is prey-rich and protected, and another 45% of tiger habitats are shared with roughly 60 million people, the study said.Strong wildlife protection legislation is the backbone of tiger conservation in India, said Jhala. Habitat is not a constraint, its the quality of the habitat which is a constraint, he said. Wildlife biologist Ravi Chellam, who wasnt part of the study, said that while tiger conservation efforts are promising, they need to be extended to other species to better maintain the entire ecosystem. There are several species, including the great Indian bustard and caracal which are all on the edge, Chellam said. And there is really not enough focus on that. ___Follow Sibi Arasu on X at @sibi123___The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. SIBI ARASU Sibi reports on climate change from India and South Asia twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

British actress and singer Marianne Faithfull poses during a photo-call for her movie 'Irina Palm' at the 57th International Film Festival Berlin 'Berlinale' in Berlin, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2007. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)2025-01-30T18:53:37Z NEW YORK (AP) Marianne Faithfull, the British pop star, muse, libertine and old soul who inspired and helped write some of the Rolling Stones greatest songs and endured as a torch singer and survivor of the lifestyle she once embodied, has died. She was 78.Faithfull passed away Thursday in London, her music promotion company Republic Media said. It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of the singer, songwriter and actress Marianne Faithfull, a company spokesperson said in a statement. Marianne passed away peacefully in London today, in the company of her loving family. She will be dearly missed.The blonde, voluptuous Faithfull was a celebrity before turning 17, homeless by her mid-20s and an inspiration to peers and younger artists by her early 30s, when her raw, explicit Broken English album brought her the kinds of reviews the Stones had received. Over the following decades, her admirers would include Beck, Billy Corgan, Nick Cave and PJ Harvey, although her history would always be closely tied to the Stones and to the years she dated Mick Jagger. One of the first songs written by Jagger and Keith Richards, the melancholy As Tears Go By, was her breakthrough hit when released in 1964 and the start of her close and tormented relationship with the band. She and Jagger began seeing each other in 1966 and became one of the most glamorous and notorious couples of Swinging London, with Faithfull once declaring that if LSD wasnt meant to happen, it wouldnt have been invented. Their rejection of conventional values was defined by a widely publicized 1967 drug bust that left Jagger and Richards briefly in jail and Faithfull identified in tabloids as Naked Girl At Stones Party, a label she would find humiliating and inescapable. One of the hazards of reforming your evil ways is that some people wont let go of their minds eye of you as a wild thing, she wrote in Memories, Dreams and Reflections, a 2007 memoir. Jagger and Richards often cited bluesmen and early rock n rollers as their prime influences, but Faithfull and her close friend Anita Pallenberg, Richards longtime partner, also opened the band to new ways of thinking. Both were worldlier than their boyfriends at the time, and helped transform the Stones songwriting and personas, whether as muses or as collaborators.Faithfull helped inspire such Stones songs as the mellow tribute She Smiled Sweetly and the lustful Lets Spend the Night Together. It was Faithful who lent Jagger the Russian novel The Master and Margarita that was the basis for Sympathy for the Devil and who first recorded and contributed lyrics to the Stones dire Sister Morphine, notably the opening line, Here I lie in my hospital bed. Faithfulls drug use helped shape such jaded takes on the London rock scene as You Cant Always Get What You Want and Live with Me, while her time with Jagger also coincided with one of his most vulnerable love songs, Wild Horses.On her own, the London-born Faithfull specialized at first in genteel ballads, among them Come Stay With Me, Summer Nights and This Little Bird. But even in her teens, Faithfull sang in a fragile alto that suggested knowledge and burdens far beyond her years. Her voice would later crack and coarsen, and her life and work after splitting with Jagger in 1970 was one of looking back and carrying on through emotional and physical pain. She had become addicted to heroin in the late 60s, suffered a miscarriage while seven months pregnant and nearly died from an overdose of sleeping pills. (Jagger, meanwhile, had an affair with Pallenberg and had a baby with actor Marsha Hunt). By the early 70s, Faithfull was living in the streets of London and had lost custody of the son, Nicholas, she had with her estranged husband, the gallery owner John Dunbar. She would also battle anorexia and hepatitis, was treated for breast cancer, broke her hip in a fall and was hospitalized with COVID-19 in 2020.She shared everything, uncensored, in her memoirs and in her music, notably Broken English, which came out in 1979 and featured her seething Whyd Ya Do It and conflicted Guilt, in which she chants I feel guilt, I feel guilt, though I know Ive done no wrong. Other albums included Dangerous Acquaintances, Strange Weather, the live Blazing Away and, most recently, She Walks in Beauty. Though Faithfull was defined by the 1960s, her sensibility often reached back to the pre-rock world of German cabaret, and she covered numerous songs by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, including Ballad of the Soldiers Wife and the sung ballet The Seven Deadly Sins. Her interests extended to theater, film and television. Faithfull began acting in the 1960s, including an appearance in Jean-Luc Godards Made In U.S.A. and stage roles in Hamlet and Chekhovs Three Sisters. She would later appear in such films as Marie Antoinette and The Girl from Nagasaki, and the TV series Absolutely Fabulous, in which she was cast as and did not flinch from playing God. Faithful was married three times, and in recent years dated her manager, Francois Ravard. Jagger was her most famous lover, but other men in her life included Richards (so great and memorable, she would say of their one-night stand), David Bowie and the early rock star Gene Pitney. Among the rejected: Bob Dylan, who had been so taken that he was writing a song about her, until Faithfull, pregnant with her son at the time, turned him down.Without warning, he turned into Rumpelstiltskin, she wrote in Faithfull, published in 1994. He went over to the typewriter, took a sheaf of papers and began ripping them up into smaller and smaller pieces, after which he let them fall into the wastepaper basket.Faithfulls heritage was one of intrigue, decadence and fallen empires. Her father was a British intelligence officer during World War II who helped saved her mother from the Nazis in Vienna. Faithfulls more distant ancestors included various Austro-Hungarian aristocrats and Count Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, a 19th century Austrian whose last name and scandalous novel Venus in Furs helped create the term masochism.Faithfulls parents separated when she was 6 and her childhood would include time in a convent and in what she would call a nutty sex-obsessed commune. By her teens, she was reading Simone de Beauvoir, listening to Odetta and Joan Baez and singing in folk clubs. Through the London art scene, she met Dunbar, who introduced her to Paul McCartney and other celebrities. Dunbar also co-founded the Indica Gallery, where John Lennon would say he met Yoko Ono.The threads of a dozen little scenes were invisibly twining together, she wrote in her memoir. All these people gallery owners, photographers, pop stars, aristocrats and assorted talented layabouts more or less invented the scene in London, so I guess I was present at the creation.Her future was set in March 1964, when she attended a recording party for one of Londons hot young bands, the Rolling Stones. Scorning the idea that she and Jagger immediately fell for each other, she would regard the Stones as yobby schoolboys and witnessed Jagger fighting with his then-girlfriend, the model Chrissie Shrimpton, so in tears that her false eyelashes were peeling off.But she was deeply impressed by one man, Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, who looked powerful and dangerous and very sure of himself. A week later, Oldham sent her a telegram, asking her to come to Londons Olympic Studios. With Jagger and Richards looking on, Oldham played her a demo of a very primitive song, A Tears Go By, which Faithfull needed just two takes to complete.Its an absolutely astonishing thing for a boy of 20 to have written, Faithfull wrote in her 1994 memoir. A song about a woman looking back nostalgically on her life. The uncanny thing is that Mick should have written those words so long before everything happened. Its almost as is if our whole relationship was prefigured in that song.___Brian Melley contributed from London.

In 2015, a federal worker named Katherine Spivey gave colleagues a presentation about how to write plainly, so that the general public can more easily understand content on government websites. One of her pieces of advice, among many, was to use pronouns such as the word you to describe the reader rather than jargon like beneficiary or purchaser.Theres already a great barrier between citizens and the government, Spivey said.Remember, your reader is a person, not an entity use pronouns to speak directly to your readers. It requires a lot less work and it requires a lot less words.Spiveys presentation had nothing to do with gender identity, gender pronouns, diversity, equity, or inclusion. It was about the broad concept of pronouns, the part of speech we (a pronoun!) use constantly. And yet, after Donald Trump was inaugurated, the government webpage archiving a video of Spiveys presentation was first edited to remove a timestamp link that went to the section of the video about pronouns. Later, the page archiving the video was deleted entirely (a copy of the video is still available on YouTube and on the Internet Archive).The tweak is one of hundreds that have been revealed across government via Githubs commit tracking, which shows version changes to code, websites, and other projects managed on the site. Github is also revealing a widespread, scattershot effort to not only change government policies on DEI but also to wholesale nuke language that actually has nothing to do with it and are retroactively changing descriptions of research and events that happened in the past to remove any reference to DEI. The Github pages reveal not only the imprecision with which these changes are being made but also a willingness to literally rewrite and delete history. 0:00 /65:02 1 Many of the deletions catalogued on Github demonstrate the pettiness and lengths to which the Trump administration is going to seek and destroy anything that it could possibly conceive as being related to DEI. They also show that the government has hundreds of employees and contractors who have been tasked with being the anti-DEI police across the entire government. Many of the changes are frivolous, but many of them are not, and represent the destruction of critical institutions, research, and public data.There are far more alarming deletions than Spiveys video, of course.The Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology, an office of the government that determines how the federal government should carry out statistical research to, for example, determine if a federal program is working, has nuked its page about best practices for researching sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics. This page had years of research about how to best do basic government research about the American people for the Census, the National Institutes of Health, and other government agencies to allow for better understanding of how sexual and gender minority populations [are faring] relative to the general or other population groups, including economic, housing, health, and other differences. These insights can lead to potential resources and interventions needed to better serve the community. These data meet critical needs to understand trends within larger population groups.Similarly, the National Institutes of Health deleted a page about the Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office, which has done critical research about the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ people.It is impossible to catalog everything that has been deleted, tweaked, or scrubbed. But here are some more:The U.S. Web Design System has deleted its pages on inclusive web design, which many web designers referred to when thinking about how to make their websites more accessible. The Github shows that much of the research and underlying principles that went into it were also deleted.According to Github, a page about behavioral guidelines for government employees is slated to get rid of a bullet point that says dont make derogatory comments on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, though the change has not appeared on the live site yet.GSA research about how much money the federal government spends at businesses owned by women, veterans, and other groups as been deleted from the internetThe description of a government panel at a conference from 2022 about neurodiversity has been edited to remove the term DEIA from its description. Similarly, the word inclusion has been deleted from a government training about why the Americans with Disabilities Act is important for accessibility at sports venues.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President Trump's nominee to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services testifies during a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing for his pending confirmation on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)2025-01-30T16:10:22Z WASHINGTON (AP) Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s long record of doubting the safety of childhood vaccinations persisted as a flash point for him Thursday in a confirmation hearing where senators, including a key Republican, shared intensely personal details about the impact vaccine skepticism had on their lives. In one response, Kennedy refused to flatly reject a long-discredited theory that vaccines cause autism, despite years of studies and research that have found they do not. His vaccine views could jeopardize his standing with just a few Republicans and has certainly not helped him win over any votes among Democrats in his bid to become health secretary. If all Democrats reject Kennedys nomination, he can only afford to lose three Republican votes. Much attention was focused on the questions from Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Republican chairman of the health committee, who is also a physician. Cassidy, who is up for reelection next year, expressed pointed concern about Kennedys vaccines views, noting that the nominees broad popularity had given him a powerful platform on the subject. Whether its justified or not, I have constituents who partly credit you for their decision to not vaccinate their child, Cassidy told the nominee. He shared with Kennedy a personal story about an 18-year-old woman whose liver was failing from a hepatitis infection.It was the worst day of my medical career because I thought $50 of vaccines could have prevented this all, Cassidy said. He then asked Kennedy to promise as health secretary that he would unequivocally reassure parents that the Hepatitis B and measles vaccines do not cause autism.Kennedy would not. Instead he avoided answering directly, saying if the data is there, I will absolutely do that.Then, in a rare show of across-the-aisle cooperation, Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, followed up on Cassidys line of questioning. Again, Kennedy refused to give a definitive answer. At times, the questioning was intensely personal. Sen. Maggie Hassan, Democrat of New Hampshire, shared her anguish as a mother who has spent decades wondering what caused her 36-year-old sons cerebral palsy. She worried about whether vaccines contributed to her sons condition after an infamous study years ago falsely found a link between autism and vaccines. That study has since been roundly discredited.Hassan said Kennedys suggestions that vaccines could cause autism were hurting families. He is re-litigating and churning settled science so we cant go forward and find out what the cause of autism is and treat these kids and help these families, she said, later adding: When you continue to sow doubt about settled science, it makes it impossible for us to move forward. Aside from Cassidy, Republicans on the health committee remained friendly to Kennedy. Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, who said his two sons wanted to vote for Kennedy in the presidential election, told the hearing that granddaughter, due in the coming weeks, would not be a pincushion when it came to vaccines. Two others expressed doubts about the safety of vaccines, although both said theyve vaccinated their own children. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican, chided his colleagues for scrutinizing Kennedys skeptical stances on vaccinations.We cant question science? Mullin asked.In his opening remarks, Kennedy once again rejected the anti-vaccine label and instead said he is pro-safety. He repeated many of the same lines he offered to the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday. Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, where the Gardasil vaccine to guard against cervical cancer is made, questioned Kennedys financial disclosure forms, which state that he still plans to collect fees in cases referred to the law firm in a suit against that vaccine. Last year, Kennedy made $850,000 off the deal.How can folks who need to have confidence in federal vaccine programs trust you to be independent and science-based when you stand to gain significant funding if lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers are successful? Kaine asked. Kennedy told Kaine he has given away his rights in the case. Democrats and Republicans alike repeatedly pressed the nominee on his plans around abortion, with Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina asking if he would appoint pro-life deputies and several Democrats asking him how he would handle the abortion drug mifepristone. The Biden administration defended lawsuits against the use of the drug, including its availability over telehealth. Kennedy said no decision had yet been made about how to handle the controversial drug, which the Food and Drug Administration approved to end pregnancies safely more than two decades ago. With mifepristone, President Trump has not chosen a policy and I will implement his policy, Kennedy told the committee. Kennedy wants to lead the $1.7 trillion agency that oversees health care coverage Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act marketplace for roughly half the country, approves then recommends vaccines for deadly diseases and conducts safety inspections of food and hospitals.During a three-hour hearing on Wednesday before the finance committee, which will ultimately decide whether to send Kennedys nomination to the Senate floor for a vote, Kennedy misstated basic facts about Medicare and Medicaid. But Republicans mostly expressed support for his proposals to push healthier foods to Americans and research the root of chronic diseases like obesity. AMANDA SEITZ Seitz is an Associated Press reporter covering federal health care policy. She is based in Washington, D.C. twitter mailto STEPHEN GROVES Groves covers Congress for The Associated Press. twitter mailto

Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, left, and Cynthia Kaiser, a deputy assistant director in the FBI's Cyber Division, participate in a meeting of the National Association of Secretaries of State in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Christina A. Cassidy)2025-01-30T11:34:27Z WASHINGTON (AP) The nations cybersecurity agency has played a critical role in helping states shore up the defenses of their voting systems, but its election mission appears uncertain amid sustained criticism from Republicans and key figures in the Trump administration.President Donald Trump has not named a new head of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and for the first time since it was formed, there are no plans for anyone in its leadership to address the main annual gathering of the nations secretaries of state, which was being held this week in Washington.On Thursday, a panel on cyberthreats included an update from an FBI official who said the threats remained consistent.Im often asked what the FBI sees as the top cyberthreats facing the U.S., and really the FBIs answer for the last several years has been the same: China, China, China, ransomware, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cynthia Kaiser, a deputy assistant director in the bureaus Cyber Division, told attendees at the National Association of Secretaries of State meeting. Trumps new homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said during her Senate hearing that CISA had strayed far off mission. She pledged to work with senators should you wish to rein them in with legislation. The agency formed in 2018 during the first Trump administration is charged with protecting the nations critical infrastructure, from dams and nuclear power plants to banks and voting systems. It is under the Department of Homeland Security, but CISA is a separate agency with its own Senate-confirmed director. The agency has received bipartisan praise from many state and local election officials, but Trump and his allies remain angry over its efforts to counter misinformation about the 2020 presidential election and the coronavirus pandemic. The agencys first director, Chris Krebs, was fired by Trump after Krebs highlighted a statement issued by a group of election officials that called the 2020 election the most secure in American history. That drew Trumps ire as he was contesting his loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Republicans have claimed repeatedly since then that CISA had worked with social media companies to censor conservative viewpoints on issues related to elections and health.Agency officials have disputed that: CISA does not censor, has never censored, the agencys then-director, Jen Easterly, said last fall in an interview with The Associated Press. Nevertheless, Republicans continue to blame the agency and insist changes are necessary.Joe Bidens Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) was more focused on undermining President Trump than they were protecting our own critical infrastructure, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., chair of the newly formed House subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency, said in a social media post last week. The thugs responsible for that kind of waste and abuse will be held accountable!During the 2020 election, agency officials worked with states to help them notify social media companies about misinformation spreading on their platforms, but they have said they never instructed or sought to coerce those companies to act. For the 2024 election, CISA and other federal agencies alerted the public to various foreign misinformation campaigns, including a fake video linked to Russia purporting to show the mishandling of ballots in Pennsylvania. In recent months, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has echoed the GOP claims and announced plans to dismantle the companys fact-checking program.One of the first actions Trump took after returning to the White House on Jan. 20 was a signing of an executive order ending federal censorship and instructing his attorney general to investigate federal actions under the previous administration and to propose remedial actions. There is little information about whats next and whether CISAs mission could change under new leadership.Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for a Republican administration, recommended that CISA be moved to the Transportation Department and focused solely on protecting government networks and coordinating the security of critical infrastructure. It said the agency should only help states assess whether they have good cyber hygiene in their hardware and software in preparation for an election nothing more. Thats what the agency has been doing in recent years, by providing training and security reviews.Voting systems were designated critical infrastructure after an effort by Russia in 2016 to interfere in that years presidential election, which included scanning state voter registration databases for vulnerabilities.Some state election officials were initially resistant to the idea of federal assistance. But many now credit the agency and federal money with helping them improve security ahead of the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, a Democrat who is president of the secretaries of state association, said it was understandable that a new administration needed time to decide what role it wanted for the cybersecurity agency. But he hoped its work with the states would continue, both in improving election security and highlighting disinformation campaigns.We need to know if a foreign adversary is seeking to misdirect and mislead Americans on any subject, whether its elections or science or national security or foreign policy, he said in a phone interview Thursday from Minnesota before he was scheduled to leave for Washington. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Dick Button smiles next to a painting of him while honored at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)2025-01-31T00:53:37Z NEW YORK (AP) Dick Button was more than the most accomplished mens figure skater in history. He was one of his sports greatest innovators and promoters.Button, winner of two Olympic gold medals and five consecutive world championships, died Thursday, said his son, Edward, who did not provide a cause. He was 95.As an entrepreneur and broadcaster, Button promoted skating and its athletes, transforming a niche sport into the showpiece of every Winter Olympics.Dick was one of the most important figures in our sport, Scott Hamilton said. There wasnt a skater after Dick who wasnt helped by him in some way.Buttons impact began after World War II. He was the first U.S. mens champion and his countrys youngest at age 16 when that competition returned in 1946. Two years later, he took the title at the St. Moritz Olympics, competing outdoors. He performed the first double axel in any competition and became the first American to win the mens event. By the way, that jump had a cheat on it, Button told the U.S. Olympic Committee website. But listen, I did it and that was what counted. That began his dominance of international skating, and U.S. amateur sports. He was the first figure skater to win the prestigious Sullivan Award in 1949 no other figure skater won it until Michelle Kwan in 2001.In 1952, while a Harvard student, he won a second gold at the Oslo Games, making more history with the first triple jump (a loop) in competition. Soon after, he won a fifth world title, then gave up his eligibility as an amateur. All Olympic sports were subject to an amateur/professional division at the time. I had achieved everything I could have dreamed of doing as a skater, said Button, who earned a law degree from Harvard in 1956. I was able to enjoy the Ice Capades (show) and keep my hand in skating, and that was very important to me. With the Emmy Award-winning Button as the TV analyst, viewers got to learn not only the basics but the nuances of a sport foreign to many as he frankly broke down the performances. He became as much a fixture on ABCs Wide World of Sports as Jim McKay and the hapless ski jumper tumbling down the slope.Dick Button is the custodian of the history of figure skating and its quintessential voice, 1988 Olympic champion Brian Boitano said in Buttons autobiography. He made the words lutz and salchow part of our everyday vocabulary.After a 1961 plane crash killed the entire U.S. figure skating team on the way to the world championships, which then were canceled, Button persuaded ABC Sports executive Roone Arledge to televise the 1962 event on Wide World. Thats when he joined the network as a commentator.Buttons death coincided with another tragedy in the skating world, Wednesday nights crash of an American Airlines flight that collided with an Army helicopter and plummeted into the Potomac River outside Washington, D.C., killing everyone on board. Two teenage figure skaters, their mothers, and two former world champions who were coaching at the Skating Club of Boston were among the 14 people killed from the skating community. Button skated for the Boston club and remained close to it for the rest of his life. The trophy room at the club is named in his honor.He also provided opportunities for skaters to make money after their competitive careers. He ran professional events he created for TV for years, attracting many top names in the sport Hamilton, Torvill and Dean, Kristi Yamaguchi, Kurt Browning and Katarina Witt.Buttons Candid Productions, formed 1959, also produced such made-for-TV programs as Battle of the Network Stars. He also dabbled in acting, but the rink was his realm.Dick Button created an open and honest space in figure skating broadcasting where no topic or moment was off-limits, said Johnny Weir, the three-time U.S. champion and current NBC Sports figure skating analyst. He told it like it was, even when his opinion wasnt a popular one. His zingers were always in my mind when I would perform for him, and I wanted to make him as happy and proud as I would my coaches.I think that is something very special about commentating figure skating. As an athlete, we rarely have an opportunity to speak, and we rely on the TV voices to tell our story for us. Nobody could do it like Mr. Button.___AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Police and coast guard boats are seen around a wreckage site in the Potomac River from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2025-01-31T01:00:34Z WASHINGTON (AP) The airspace around Washington, D.C., is congested and complex a combination aviation experts have long worried could lead to catastrophe.Those fears materialized Wednesday night when an American Airlines plane collided with a military helicopter, taking the lives of 67 people, including three soldiers and more than a dozen figure skaters. Even in peak flying conditions, experts said, the airspace around Reagan Washington National Airport can challenge the most experienced pilots, who must navigate hundreds of other commercial planes, military aircraft and restricted areas around sensitive sites. This was a disaster waiting to happen, said Ross Aimer, a retired United Airlines captain and chief executive officer of Aero Consulting Experts. Those of us who have been around a long time have been yelling into a vacuum that something like this would happen because our systems are stretched to extremes. There was no immediate word on the cause of the collision, but officials said flight conditions were clear as the jet arrived from Wichita, Kansas. Investigators have already begun examining every aspect of the crash, including questions about why the Army Black Hawk helicopter was 100 feet above its permitted altitude and whether the air traffic control tower was properly staffed. A Federal Aviation Administration report obtained by The Associated Press described staffing levels as not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic. As authorities piece together the nations deadliest U.S. airline crash since 2001, the tragedy has raised new concerns about the specific dangers at Reagan National, which has seen a series of near-misses in recent years. Experts and some lawmakers said they are concerned that the airspace is about to get more congested in the wake of Congress decision last year to ease restrictions that had limited the airport to nonstop flights within 1,250 miles (2,012 kilometers) of Washington, with few exceptions. Lawmakers enabled airlines to launch new routes to destinations like Seattle and San Francisco. The plan fueled intense debate about congestion versus convenience, with some legislators heralding new flights to their home states while others warned of potential tragedy. The flight that crashed Wednesday was not part of the expansion. It was added by American Airlines in January of last year amid a push by Kansas lawmakers for more service between Reagan National and Wichita. Airliners and helicopters in close proximityCommercial aircraft flying in and out of Reagan National have long had to contend with military helicopters traversing the same airspace within at-times startling proximity. Even if everybody is doing what theyre supposed to be doing, youve only got a few hundred feet separation between aircraft coming in to land and the many helicopters along that route, said Jim Brauchle, a former U.S. Air Force navigator and aviation attorney. It doesnt leave a whole lot margin of error.Pilots have long warned of a nightmare scenario near the airport with commercial jetliners and military helicopters crossing paths, especially at night when the bright lights of the city can make seeing oncoming aircraft more difficult. Retired U.S. Army National Guard pilot Darrell Feller said the deadly collision reminded him of an incident he experienced a decade ago when he was flying a military helicopter south along the Potomac River near Reagan National.An air traffic controller advised him to be on the lookout for a jetliner landing on Runway 3-3, an approach that requires planes to fly directly over the route used by military and law enforcement helicopters transiting the nations capital. Not always easy to spot airlinersFeller was unable to pick out the oncoming jetliner against the lights of the city and cars on a nearby bridge. He immediately descended, skimming just 50 feet over the water to ensure the descending jetliner would pass over him.I could not see him. I lost him in the city lights, Feller, who retired from the Army in 2014, recounted Thursday. It did scare me.Fellers experience was eerily similar to what experts said may have happed with the crew of the Army helicopter Wednesday shortly before 9 p.m. as they flew south along the Potomac and collided with an American Airlines Flight 5342 landing at Runway 3-3. As the American Airlines jet approached the airport, air traffic controllers asked its pilots if they could land on Runway 3-3 rather than the longer and busier north-south runway. The jets pilots altered their approach, heading over the east bank of the Potomac before heading back over the river to land on 3-3.Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked the Army helicopter if it had the American Airlines plane in sight, and the military pilot responded that he did. The controller then instructed the Black Hawk to pass behind the jet. Seconds after that last transmission, the two aircraft collided in a fireball. Feller, who served as an instructor pilot for the D.C. National Guard, said he had several rules for new pilots to avoid such collisions. He warned them to stay below the mandated 200-foot ceiling for helicopters. And he urged them to be on guard for planes landing on 3-3 because they could be difficult to spot. Those planes landing lights are not pointed directly at you, Feller said, adding that those lights also get mixed up with ground lights, with cars.Not the first such deadly crashWednesdays crash was reminiscent of a deadly collision in 1949, when Washingtons airspace was considerably less crowded. A passenger plane on final approach to what is now Reagan Airport collided with a military plane, plunging both aircraft to the Potomac River and killing 55 people. At the time, it was the deadliest air crash in the U.S.Jack Schonely, a retired Los Angeles Police Department helicopter pilot, said hes been a passenger on helicopter rides through D.C. and was always struck by how complicated it seems for the pilots. Youve got two large airports. Youve got multiple restricted areas. Youve got altitude restrictions. Routine restrictions, and a lot of air traffic, he said. Theres a lot going on in a tight area.Robert Clifford, an aviation attorney, said the U.S. government should temporarily halt military helicopter flights in the airspace used by commercial airlines near Reagan National.I cant get over how stunningly clear it is that this was a preventable crash and this should never, ever have occurred, Clifford said. There have been discussions for some time about the congestion associated with that and the potential for disaster. And we saw it come home last night. __ Foley reported from Iowa City, Iowa. Associated Press journalists Michael R. Sisak and Joseph Frederick in New York, Alan Suderman in Richmond, Virginia, Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas, and Adriana Gomez Licon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this report. RYAN J. FOLEY Foley covers state and national news for The Associated Press and is based in Iowa City, Iowa. A 20-year AP veteran, hes known for investigative reporting and using open records laws to obtain information. twitter mailto JIM MUSTIAN Mustian is an Associated Press investigative reporter for breaking news. twitter mailto MICHAEL BIESECKER Biesecker is a global investigative reporter for The Associated Press, based in Washington. He reports on a wide range of topics, including human conflict, climate change and political corruption. twitter instagram mailto

Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's choice to be the Director of National Intelligence, arrives to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee for her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)2025-01-31T00:32:36Z WASHINGTON (AP) Conspiracy theories about vaccines. Secret meetings with dictators. An enemies list.President Donald Trump s most controversial Cabinet nominees Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel flooded the zone Thursday in back-to-back-to-back confirmation hearings that were like nothing the Senate has seen in modern memory.The onslaught of claims, promises and testy exchanges did not occur in a political vacuum. The whirlwind day Day 10 of the new White House all unfolded as Trump himself was ranting about how diversity hiring caused the tragic airplane-and-helicopter crash outside Washingtons Ronald Reagan National Airport.And it capped a tumultuous week after the White House abruptly halted federal funding for programs Americans rely on nationwide, under guidance from Trumps budget pick Russ Vought, only to reverse course amid a public revolt. The American people did not vote for this kind of senseless chaos, said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., earlier.It was all challenging even the most loyal Republicans who are being asked to confirm Trumps Cabinet or face recriminations from an army of online foot-soldiers aggressively promoting the White House agenda. A majority vote in the Senate, which is led by Republicans 53-57, is needed for confirmation, leaving little room for dissent. Here are some takeaways from the day: Tulsi Gabbard defends her loyalty and makes some inroadsGabbard is seen as the most endangered of Trumps picks, potentially lacking the votes even from Trumps party for confirmation for Director of National Intelligence. But her hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee offered a roadmap toward confirmation. It opened with the chairman, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., swatting back claims that Gabbard is a foreign asset, undercover for some other nation, presumably Russia. He said he reviewed some 300 pages of multiple FBI background checks and shes clean as a whistle.But Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the panel, questioned whether she could build the trust needed, at home and abroad, to do the job.Gabbard, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, defended her loyalty to the U.S. She dismissed GOP Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, when he asked whether Russia would get a pass from her.Senator, Im offended by the question, Gabbard responded.Pressed on her secret 2017 trip to meet with then-Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has since been toppled by rebels and fled to Russia, she defended her work as diplomacy.Gabbard may have made some inroads with one potentially skeptical Republican. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, asked whether Gabbard would recommend a pardon for Edward Snowden. The former government contractor was charged with espionage after leaking a trove of sensitive intelligence material, and fled to residency in Russia.Gabbard, who has called Snowden a brave whistleblower, said it would not be her responsibility to advocate for any actions related to Snowden.Picking up one notable endorsement, Gabbard was introduced by one of the Senates more influential voices on intelligence matters, Richard Burr, the retired Republican chairman of the Intelligence Committee. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pressed again on vaccine safetyKennedy faced a second day of grilling to become Health and Human Services secretary, this time at the Senate Health committee, as senators probed his past views against vaccines and whether he would ban the abortion drug mifepristone.But what skeptical Democratic senators have been driving at is whether Kennedy is trustworthy if he holds fast to his past views or has shifted to new ones echoing concerns raised by his cousin Caroline Kennedy that he is a charismatic predator hungry for power.Youve spent your entire career undermining Americas vaccine program, said Sen. Chris Murphy D-Conn. It just isnt believable that when you become secretary you are going to become consistent with science.Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., took the conversation in a different direction reading Kennedys comments about the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in which he said in a social media post: Its hard to tell what is conspiracy and what isnt. Wow, Kaine said. Kennedy responded that his father, the late Robert F. Kennedy, told him that people in positions of power do lie.But Kennedys longtime advocacy in the anti-vaccine community continued to dominate his hearings.Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., choked back tears when she told Kennedy that his work caused grave harm by relitigating what is already settled science rather than helping the country advance toward new treatments and answers in healthcare.But Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., immediately shifted the mood saying his own sons are fans of the nominee and he thanked Kennedy for bringing the light particularly to a younger generation interested in his alternative views.Pressed on whether he would ban the abortion drug mifepristone, Kennedy said its up to Trump.I will implement his policy. A combative Kash Patel spars with senators over his pastKash Patel emerged as perhaps the most combative nominee in a testy hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee as the nominee to lead the FBI.Confronted with his own past words, writings and public comments, Patel, a former Capitol Hill staffer turned Trump enthusiast, protested repeatedly that his views were being taken out of context as unfair smears.Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., read aloud Patels false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election and another about his published enemies list that includes former Trump officials who have been critical of the president.Were going to come after you, she read him saying.Patel dismissed her citations as a partial statement and false.Klobuchar, exasperated, told senators: Its his own words.Patel has stood by Trump in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol and produced a version of the national anthem featuring Trump and the so-called J6 choir of defendants as a fundraiser. The president played the song opening his campaign rallies. During one jarring moment, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., asked Patel to turn around and look at the U.S. Capitol Police officers protecting the hearing room.Tell them youre proud of what you did. Tell them youre proud that you raised money off of people that assaulted their colleagues, that pepper sprayed them, that beat them with poles, Schiff said.Patel fired back: Thats an abject lie, you know it. I never, never, ever accepted violence against law enforcement.Patel said he did not endorse Trumps sweeping pardon of supporters, including violent rioters, charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.I do not agree with the commutation of any sentence of any individual who committed violence against law enforcement, Patel said.In another Cabinet development, Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee advanced Trumps budget nominee Russ Vought toward confirmation after Democrats boycotted the meeting in protest.Vought was an architect of Project 2025 and influential in the White House memo to free federal funding this week, which sparked panic in communities across the country. Advocacy organizations challenged the freeze in court, and the White House quickly rescinded it, for now. ___Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri, Matt Brown and Stephen Groves contributed to this report.

Former Gov. Doug Burgum, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to lead the the Interior Department as Secretary of the Interior, testifies before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2025-01-30T23:53:47Z The Senate confirmed Doug Burgum as interior secretary late Thursday after President Donald Trump tapped the North Dakota billionaire to spearhead the Republican administrations ambitions to boost fossil fuel production.The vote was 79-18. More than half of Senate Democrats joined all 53 Republicans in voting for Burgum. Burgum, 68, is an ultra-wealthy software industry entrepreneur who came from a small North Dakota farming community, where he worked at his familys grain elevator.He served two terms as governor of the oil-rich state and launched a presidential campaign in 2023, but dropped out months later and quickly endorsed Trump.Trump also picked Burgum to chair a new National Energy Council thats tasked with achieving American energy dominance. He would have a seat on the National Security Council a first for the interior secretary. His directive from Trump is to make it even easier for energy companies to tap fossil fuel resources, including from public lands. That raised alarms among environmentalists and some Democrats as greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels bake the planet. Burgum eagerly assisted the energy industry during his time as governor, when he was also profiting from the lease of family land to oil companies, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.During his confirmation hearing, Burgum said the U.S. can use energy development as leverage to promote peace and to lower consumer costs. He raised concerns about the reliability of renewable power sources promoted under former President Joe Biden, and said the U.S. needs to generate more electricity from sources such as coal and nuclear that can run constantly.Democrats in response accused the Trump administration of abandoning an all of the above energy policy to favor fossil fuels.They said wind is dead on the offshore. They are trying to do as much of this as possible to create demand for coal, for fossil gas, Hawaii Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz said during a Thursday floor speech. Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, said Burgum would rightfully prioritize energy innovation over regulation.Hes going to take the common-sense action of unlocking our lands for oil and for gas production, Barrasso said. He added that more than 600,000 acres of land in Wyoming have been approved for energy production but were not offered for development by the Biden administration. The U.S. currently produces more crude oil than any nation in history, according to the Energy Information Administration. More cost-effective technology in recent decades drove drilling booms in states including New Mexico, Texas and North Dakota, where vast expanses of rural farmland have been industrialized by oil and gas companies.The booms brought billions of dollars in tax revenue to state and federal governments. But burning those fuels is also unleashing immense volumes of carbon dioxide that scientists say is warming the planet.The Interior Department has jurisdiction over a half-billion acres of federal land and vast areas offshore. Those areas produce about one-quarter of U.S. oil annually. The interior secretary also oversees the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management and other subagencies.Burgum succeeds Deb Haaland, who under Biden sharply scaled back oil and gas sales and promoted solar and wind projects on federal lands.Trump made energy development a centerpiece of his first term and is again vowing to abolish restrictions on the industry that are intended to protect the environment and public health. Burgum, during his hearing earlier this month before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee, suggested to lawmakers that carbon dioxide from fossil fuels could be captured to neutralize their contribution to global warming.Carbon-capture skeptics say the technology is untested at scale and allows the fossil-fuel industry to continue largely unchanged even as climate change becomes increasingly urgent. During Haalands tenure at the Interior Department, officials also reversed actions taken during Trumps first term that weakened protections for imperiled species while making it easier for private developers to pursue projects on public lands.Republicans in Congress have said they plan to again seek changes to rules on endangered species and they want Burgum to help.Burgum says federal lands can be used for many purposes including recreation, logging and oil and gas production that can lift local economies.Not every acre of federal land is a national park or a wilderness area, he told lawmakers. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

This photo provided by Vertex Pharmaceuticals in January 2025 shows a tablet and bottle of the JOURNAVX (suzetrigine) medication. (Vertex Pharmaceuticals via AP)2025-01-30T23:14:57Z WASHINGTON (AP) Federal officials on Thursday approved a new type of pain pill designed to eliminate the risks of addiction and overdose associated with opioid medications like Vicodin and OxyContin.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it approved Vertex Pharmaceuticals Journavx for short-term pain that often follows surgery or injuries. Its the first new pharmaceutical approach to treating pain in more than 20 years, offering an alternative to both opioids and over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen and acetaminophen. But the medications modest effectiveness and lengthy development process underscore the challenges of finding new ways to manage pain.Studies in more than 870 patients with acute pain due to foot and abdominal surgeries showed Vertexs drug provided more relief than a dummy pill but didnt outperform a common opioid-acetaminophen combination pill. Its not a slam dunk on effectiveness, said Michael Schuh of the Mayo Clinic, a pharmacist and pain medicine expert who was not involved in the research. But it is a slam dunk in that its a very different pathway and mechanism of action. So, I think that shows a lot promise. The new drug will carry a list price of $15.50 per pill, making it many times more expensive than comparable opioids, which are often available as generics for $1 or less.Vertex began researching the drug in the 2000s, when overdoses were rocketing upward, principally driven by mass prescribing of opioid painkillers for common ailments like arthritis and back pain. Prescriptions have fallen sharply in the last decade and the current wave of the opioid epidemic is mainly due to illicit fentanyl, not pharmaceutical medicines. Opioids reduce pain by binding to receptors in the brain that receive nerve signals from different parts of the body. Those chemical interactions also give rise to opioids addictive effects. Vertexs drug works differently, blocking proteins that trigger pain signals that are later sent to the brain.In trying to develop medicines that dont have the addictive risks of opioid medicines, a key factor is working to block pain signaling before it gets to the brain, Vertexs Dr. David Altshuler, told The Associated Press last year. Commonly reported side effects with the drug were nausea, constipation, itching, rash and headache.The new medication has side effect profiles that are inherently, not only different, but dont involve the risk of substance abuse and other key side effects associated with opioids, said Dr. Charles Argoff of the Albany Medical Center, who consulted for Vertex on the drugs development.The initial concept to focus on pain-signaling proteins came out of research involving people with a rare hereditary condition that causes insensitivity to pain.Vertex has attracted interest from Wall Street for its ambitious drug pipeline that involves winning FDA approval for multiple drugs across several forms of chronic pain, which generally represents a bigger financial opportunity than acute pain. But the Boston drugmakers share price plummeted in December when Vertex reported disappointing mid-stage results in a study of patients with chronic nerve pain affecting the lower back and legs. The drug didnt perform significantly better than placebo, the research found.We believe the data reflect a near worst-case scenario for this key pipeline program, biotechnology analyst Brian Abrahams said in a research note to investors, adding that the results jeopardized estimates that Vertexs pipeline could be worth billions across multiple forms of pain.Still, Vertex executives said they plan to move forward with a new, late-stage study of the drug, theorizing that a different trial design could yield better results and pave the way for FDA approval in chronic pain.___AP video journalist Mary Conlon contributed to this story from New York.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

President Donald Trump talks with reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-01-30T21:31:12Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump said his 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico are coming on Saturday, but hes still considering whether to include oil from those countries as part of his import taxes.We may or may not, Trump told reporters Thursday in the Oval Office about tariffing oil from Canada and Mexico. Were going to make that determination probably tonight.Trump said his decision will be based on whether the price of oil charged by the two trading partners is fair, although the basis of his threatened tariffs pertains to stopping illegal immigration and the smuggling of chemicals used for fentanyl.The risk of tariffs on Canadian and Mexican oil could undermine Trumps repeated pledge to lower overall inflation by reducing energy costs. Costs associated with tariffs could be passed along to consumers in the form of higher gasoline prices an issue that Trump placed at the center of his Republican presidential campaign as he vowed to halve energy costs within one year. One year from Jan. 20, we will have your energy prices cut in half all over the country, Trump said at a 2024 town hall in Pennsylvania. AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of the electorate, found that 80% of voters identified gas prices as a concern. Trump won nearly 6 in 10 voters who said they worried about prices at the pump.The United States imported almost 4.6 million barrels of oil daily from Canada in October and 563,000 barrels from Mexico, according to the Energy Information Administration. U.S. daily production during that month averaged nearly 13.5 million barrels a day. Matthew Holmes, executive vice president and chief of public policy at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said Trumps tariffs would tax America first in the form of higher costs.This is a lose-lose, Holmes said. We will keep working with partners to show President Trump and Americans that this doesnt make life any more affordable. It makes life more expensive and sends our integrated businesses scrambling. But Trump showed no concerns that import taxes on the United States trading partners would have a negative impact on the U.S. economy, despite the risk shown in many economic analyses of higher prices.We dont need the products that they have, Trump said. We have all the oil you need. We have all the trees you need, meaning the lumber.The president also said that China would pay tariffs for its exporting of the chemicals used to make fentanyl. He has previously stated a 10% tariff that would be on top of other import taxes charged on products from China.Oil prices were trading at roughly $73 a barrel on Thursday afternoon. Prices spiked in June 2022 under President Joe Biden to more than $120 per barrel, a period that overlapped with overall inflation hitting a four-decade high that fueled a broader sense of public dissatisfaction with the Democratic administration. Gas prices are averaging $3.12 a gallon across the United States, roughly the same price as a year ago, according to AAA.___ JOSH BOAK Boak covers the White House and economic policy for The Associated Press. He joined the AP in 2013. twitter mailto

Rebel leader of group of Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) including M23, Corneille Nangaa, addresses a news conference in Goma, Democratic republic of the Congo, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)2025-01-30T09:14:23Z GOMA, Congo (AP) Rwanda-backed rebels who captured eastern Congos largest city said Thursday they want to take their fight to the far-off capital, Kinshasa, while Congos president called for a massive military mobilization to resist the rebellion and his defense minister rejected calls for dialogue.In a video message on Thursday, Congos Defense Minister Guy Kabombo Muadiamvita said he has directed plans for any dialogue with the rebels to be completely burned immediately.We will stay here in Congo and fight. If we do not stay alive here, lets stay dead here, said Muadiamvita, a close ally of Congos president.At a briefing where they sought to assert their control over the eastern city of Goma and surrounding territory in the neighbouring South Kivu province, the M23 rebels said they would be open to dialogue with the government, also proposed by the east African regional bloc of which Rwanda is a member. Their motive, however, is to gain political power, Corneille Nangaa, one of the political leaders of M23, said during the briefing. We want to go to Kinshasa, take power and lead the country, Nangaa said. He did not indicate how the rebels planned to advance on the capital, more than 1,500 kilometers (nearly 1,000 miles) away. Rwandas leader, Paul Kagame said he spoke with Angolas President Joao Lourenco a mediator in the conflict who also met with Congos leader a day earlier and both leaders committed to working with other African countries to resolve the hostilities. U.S. President Donald Trump described the conflict as a very serious problem when asked about it Thursday but declined to comment further, and a U.N. spokesman said the agency is disturbed by reports that neighboring Rwandan forces have crossed the border in the direction where the rebels are said to be advancing.The M23 rebels are backed by some 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, far more than in 2012 when they first captured Goma. They are one of more than 100 armed groups vying for control in Congos mineral-rich east, which holds vast deposits estimated to be worth $24 trillion that are critical to much of the worlds technology. Congolese President Flix Tshisekedi, meanwhile, called on young people to enlist massively in the military, as a crucial meeting of neighbors asked the Congolese government to talk with the rebels. Rwandas leader also threatened to deal with any confrontation with South Africa, which has complained that fighting in eastern Congo has left South African peacekeepers dead.In his first public remarks since the M23 rebels advanced into, Goma on Monday, Tshisekedi vowed a vigorous and coordinated response from his forces to push back the rebels while reaffirming his commitment to a peaceful resolution. On Thursday, he met with French Foreign Minister Jean-Nol Barrot in Kinshasa, the Congolese presidency said on X, noting that France has provided significant support to Congo in recent U.N. meetings on the issue. (Congo) expects a little more action in the face of this crisis, it added. Dead bodies, looting in GomaGoma remained largely without electricity and water on Thursday, as the bodies of several alleged government soldiers lay in the streets, horrifying residents, including children.M23 rebels escorted some 2,000 government soldiers and police officers who they said surrendered to an undisclosed location, some of them singing anti-Tshisekedi songs.The U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator in Congo said basic services are largely paralyzed in Goma, a humanitarian hub critical for more than 6 million people displaced by the conflict. After several days of intense clashes, the city is now (faced) with massive humanitarian needs and severely impacted response capacities, said Bruno Lemarquis, the humanitarian coordinator.Footage from Goma showed residents carrying food items and goods looted from stores and warehouses in the city. This is something that is going to exacerbate a dangerous cycle of violence as desperate times call for desperate measures, the U.N. World Food Program emergency coordinator in eastern Congo, Cynthia Jones, said Thursday. South Kivu gripped by fearAfter capturing much of Goma, the rebels were advancing toward South Kivus provincial capital, Bukavu, causing fear and panic among residents, witnesses said Thursday.Nn Bintou, a civil society leader, said gunshots and explosions were heard in Mukwinja, a captured town 86 miles (135 kilometers) from Bukavu.The Congolese military has been weakened after hundreds of foreign military contractors withdrew and handed over their arms to the rebels. Residents of Goma described seeing soldiers changing into civilian clothing and dropping their guns as they crossed over the border to Rwanda or took shelter in foreign peacekeeping bases.The (Congolese) military bases in Bukavu have been emptied to reinforce those in Nyabibwe, Bushushu, and Nyamukubi along the way to the capital, one youth leader said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was worried about his safety. Neighbors urge talks with M23 as tensions growA summit of the regional East African bloc called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in eastern Congo and strongly urged Tshisekedis government to hold talks with the rebels. Tshisekedi was conspicuously absent from the virtual summit attended by Rwanda, also a member.While African countries as well as the U.N. and U.S. have called for an immediate ceasefire, the risk of a regional war has increased, analysts say, exacerbated by the rebels advance into South Kivu and diatribes between Rwandan and South African officials. Congo is a member of the southern Africa regional bloc and also that of east Africa, whose peacekeeping force it expelled last year after deeming it ineffective.South African President Cyril Ramaphosa blamed the Rwanda Defense Force militia for the fighting that has resulted in the deaths of 13 South African peacekeepers in eastern Congo. He also said his government will ensure the peacekeepers are sufficiently supported during this critical mission.His comment drew an angry response from Kagame, who called the South African peacekeepers a belligerent force working alongside armed groups that target Rwanda. If South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day, the Rwandan leader said on the social media platform X.Who are the M23 and what do they want?The chaotic situation with the M23 has its roots in ethnic conflict, stretching back decades to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, when 800,000 Tutsis and others were killed by Hutus and former militias. M23 says it is defending ethnic Tutsis in Congo. Rwanda has claimed the Tutsis are being persecuted by Hutus and others involved in the genocide. Many Hutus fled into Congo after 1994. Unlike in 2012 when the rebels seized Congo for days, observers say their withdrawal could be more difficult now. The rebels have been emboldened by Rwanda, which feels Congo is ignoring its interests in the region and failed to meet demands of previous peace agreements, according to Murithi Mutiga, program director for Africa at the Crisis Group, a think tank. Ultimately, this is a failure of African mediation (because) the warning signs were always there. Kigali was adopting very bellicose rhetoric and the Congolese government was also adopting very, very aggressive rhetoric, Mutiga said.___Asadu reported from Abuja. AP journalists Ruth Alonga in Goma, Jean-Yves Kamale and Christina Malkia in Kinshasa, Congo, Mark Banchereau in Paris and Edith M. Lederer in New York contributed to this report.

CORRECTS ID - Thai hostages who were freed from Hamas, from left to right, Surasak Rumnao, Sathian Suwannakham, Bannawat Saethao, Watchara Sriaoun, and Pongsak Thaenna hold the Thailand flag in Israel, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (Royal Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv via AP)2025-01-30T22:55:22Z BEER YAAKOV, Israel (AP) When the mother of one of the Thai hostages held in the Gaza Strip for over a year caught sight of her son on a Facebook livestream after his release Thursday, he had changed so much that she didnt recognize him at first.Surasak Rumnao, 32, who was kidnapped from the southern Israeli town of Yesha on Oct. 7, 2023, looked pale and puffy, said his mother, Khammee Lamnao. I was so happy that I could not eat anything. His father brought some food to me but I did not want to eat at all, Khammee said on a video call with The Associated Press after the release of her son.Dozens of Israeli doctors, nurses and representatives from Israel and Thailand waved flags, sang and cheered Thursday as the five Thai hostages stepped off a military helicopter and entered a hospital outside Tel Aviv, where they will spend a few days undergoing medical tests and recuperating. Three Israelis were also released on Thursday, and Israel released 110 Palestinian prisoners in the exchange. Besides Sarusak, Watchara Sriaoun, 33, Sathian Suwannakham, 35, Pongsak Thaenna, 36, and Bannawat Saethao, 27, were released in Thursdays exchange. Hamas militants kidnapped 31 Thai nationals during the assault on southern Israel, making them the largest group of foreigners held captive. Many of the Thai agricultural workers lived in compounds on the outskirts of southern Israeli kibbutzim and towns, and Hamas militants overran those places first. During an earlier ceasefire in November 2023, 23 Thai nationals were released in a deal negotiated between Thailand and Hamas, with assistance from Qatar and Iran.According to Thailands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 46 Thais have been killed during the conflict, including two Thai citizens who were killed on Oct. 7, 2023 and their bodies taken into Gaza.Dr. Osnat Levzion-Korach, the director of Shamir Medical Center outside Tel Aviv where the five were taken, said they were in fair health, though most were held underground and were not exposed to sunlight for extended periods of time. She said they did not appear to be malnourished and credited their young age with helping them survive captivity in fairly good physical shape. Thailands ambassador to Israel, Pannabha Chandraramya, said she facilitated video calls between the hostages and their families after they arrived at the hospital, describing them as incredibly emotional, with shouts of joy and tears. She said it was one of the happiest days of her life, to see their release just a week before she ends her five-year term.Pannabha said there was no immediate information available about the last Thai hostage left in Gaza, Nattapong Pingsa, nor the two Thai workers whose bodies were taken into Gaza.Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra thanked Qatar, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, the United States, Israel, and the Red Cross, for helping to negotiate the Thais release in a separate deal from the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. He said Thailands minister of foreign affairs would travel to Israel this weekend. Ambassador Pannabha said the Thai government may bring some relatives of the released hostages to Israel, though many dont have passports, and that the government would help those released return home as soon as they are medically cleared to travel. Israel will recognize the released Thai hostages as terror victims, a designation that entitles them to financial benefits and health care, said Alex Gandler, the deputy spokesperson of Israels Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He said Israels ambassador in Thailand visited some of the hostages released in the previous ceasefire deal on Thursday and that the Israeli government maintains contact with them. Gandler added that since the released Thais did not have family in Israel to greet them upon their release, some of their former employers came to meet them at the hospital.Gandler said Israel is committed to releasing all the hostages, regardless of nationality. There are still one Thai, one Nepali and one Tanzanian hostage, as well as the bodies of a Tanzanian and the two Thais being held in Gaza, according to the prime ministers office. Israel hopes all the international hostages will be released, both living and dead, Gandler said, which Israel and Hamas will begin discussing next week. MELANIE LIDMAN Lidman is an Associated Press reporter based in Tel Aviv, Israel.

In this image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, wreckage is seen in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Washington. (Petty Officer 2nd Class Taylor Bacon, U.S. Coast Guard via AP)2025-01-31T05:09:23Z ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) A midair collision between an Army helicopter and a jetliner killed all 67 people aboard the two aircraft, officials said, as they scrutinized the actions of the military pilot in the countrys deadliest aviation disaster in almost a quarter century.At least 28 bodies were pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River after the helicopter apparently flew into the path of the American Airlines regional jet late Wednesday while it was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport, just across the river from Washington, officials said Thursday. The plane carried 60 passengers and four crew members, and three soldiers were aboard the helicopter.President Donald Trump told a White House news conference that no one survived.We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation, said John Donnelly, the fire chief in the nations capital. The crash occurred before 9 p.m. in some of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspace in the world, just over 3 miles (about 4.8 kilometers) south of the White House and the Capitol.Air crash investigations can take months, and federal investigators told reporters they would not speculate on the cause. National Transportation Safety Board investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder from the Bombardier CRJ700 airplane, agency spokesperson Peter Knudson said. They were at the agencys labs for evaluation. The plane was found upside-down in three sections in waist-deep water, and first responders were searching miles of the Potomac, Donnelly said. The helicopter wreckage was also found. Images from the river showed boats around the partly submerged wing and the mangled wreckage of the planes fuselage.American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said the plane was making a normal approach when the military aircraft came into the path of the jet. One air traffic controller was responsible for coordinating helicopter traffic and arriving and departing planes when the collision happened, according to a report by the Federal Aviation Administration that was obtained by The Associated Press. Those duties are often divided between two people, but the airport typically combines the roles at 9:30 p.m, once traffic begins to slow down. On Wednesday the tower supervisor directed that they be combined earlier.The position configuration was not normal for the time of day and volume of traffic, the report said. A person familiar with the matter, however, said the tower staffing that night was at a normal level.The positions are regularly combined when controllers need to step away from the console for breaks, during shift changes or when air traffic is slow, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal procedures.The Federal Aviation Administration has long struggled with a shortage of air traffic controllers.Officials said flight conditions were clear as the jet arrived from Wichita, Kansas, carrying, among others, a group of elite young figure skaters, their parents and coaches, and four union steamfitters from the Washington area. A top Army aviation official said the crew of the helicopter, a Black Hawk, was very experienced and familiar with the congested flying that occurs daily around the city.Both pilots had flown this specific route before, at night. This wasnt something new to either one of them, said Jonathan Koziol, chief of staff for Army aviation.The helicopters maximum allowed altitude at the time was 200 feet (about 60 meters), Koziol said. It was not immediately clear whether it exceeded that limit, but Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said altitude seemed to be a factor in the collision.Koziol said investigators need to analyze the flight data before making conclusions about altitude.Trump opened the news conference with a moment of silence honoring the crash victims, calling it an hour of anguish for the country.But he spent most of his time casting political blame, lashing out at former President Joe Bidens administration and diversity efforts at the Federal Aviation Administration, saying they had led to slipping standards even as he acknowledged that the cause of the crash was unknown. Without evidence, Trump blamed air traffic controllers, the helicopter pilots and Democratic policies at federal agencies. He claimed that the FAA was actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative.Inside Reagan National, the mood was somber Thursday as stranded passengers waited for flights to resume, sidestepping camera crews and staring out the windows at the Potomac, where recovery efforts were barely visible in the distance. Aster Andemicael had been there since the previous evening with her older adult father, who was flying to Indiana to visit relatives. She spent much of the long night thinking about the victims and their families.Ive been crying since yesterday, Andemicael said, her voice cracking. This is devastating.Flights resumed around midday.The deadliest plane crash since November 2001Wednesdays crash was the deadliest in the U.S. since Nov. 12, 2001, when an American Airlines flight slammed into a residential area of Belle Harbor, New York, just after takeoff from Kennedy Airport, killing all 260 people aboard and five people on the ground.The last major fatal crash involving a U.S. commercial airline occurred in 2009 near Buffalo, New York. Everyone aboard the Bombardier DHC-8 propeller plane was killed, along with one person on the ground, bringing the total death toll to 50.Experts often highlight that plane travel is overwhelmingly safe, however. The National Safety Council estimates that Americans have a 1-in-93 chance of dying in a motor vehicle crash, while deaths on airplanes are too rare to calculate the odds. Figures from the Department of Transportation tell a similar story.But the airspace around Reagan National can challenge even the most experienced pilots no matter how ideal the conditions. They must navigate hundreds of other commercial planes, military aircraft and restricted areas around sensitive sites.Just over 24 hours before the fatal collision, a different regional jet had to go around for a second chance at landing at Reagan National after it was advised about a military helicopter nearby, according to flight tracking sites and control logs. It landed safely minutes later. Tragedy stuns WichitaThe crash devastated the Kansas city, which prides itself on being in Americas heartland. Wichita hosted the U.S. Figure Skating Championships this year for the first time, along with training camps for top young skaters. The city has been a major hub for the aircraft industry since the early days of commercial flight, and it is home to the U.S. headquarters for Bombardier, which manufactured the jetliner. So many regional workers have jobs tied to the industry that the areas economy slumps when sales dip.Several hundred people gathered in the city council chambers for a prayer vigil.We will get through this, but the only way we will get through this is together, said the Rev. Pamela Hughes Mason of St. Paul AME Church.Collision happened in tightly controlled airspaceFlight 5342 was inbound to Reagan National at an altitude of about 400 feet (122 meters) and a speed of about 140 mph (225 kph) when it rapidly lost altitude over the Potomac, according to data from its radio transponder. The Canadian-made Bombardier CRJ-700 twin-engine jet, manufactured in 2004, can be configured to carry up to 70 passengers.A few minutes before the crash, air traffic controllers directed the jet to a shorter runway, and flight-tracking sites showed that it adjusted its approach.Less than 30 seconds before the collision, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight. A crewmember said the aircraft was in sight and requested visual separation allowing it to fly closer than otherwise might be allowed if pilots did not see the plane. Controllers approved the request.Seconds later, the two aircraft collided.___Gomez Licon reported from Miami. Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Meg Kinnard, Chris Megerian, Michael Biesecker in Washington; Claudia Lauer in Arlington, Virginia; Brian Melley in London; John Hanna in Wichita, Kansas; and Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland, contributed. LOLITA C. BALDOR Baldor has covered the Pentagon and national security issues for The Associated Press since 2005. She has reported from all over the world including warzones in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. twitter mailto TARA COPP Copp covers the Pentagon and national security for the Associated Press. She has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, throughout the Middle East, Europe and Asia. twitter mailto ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Gomez Licon writes about national politics for The Associated Press. She is based in Florida. twitter mailto

In this photo provided by Kaitlin Marie Sells, Sam Lilley, left, pilots a small airplane that took off from Savannah, Ga., on Aug, 6, 2022, for a flight to reach the 1,500 flight hours required for Lilley to begin training to become an airline pilot. (Kaitlin Marie Sells via AP)2025-01-31T05:02:32Z ATLANTA (AP) Sam Lilley knew he wanted to fly and began training to be a pilot, like his father, right out of college. You dont really expect to meet people that find their purpose so early on in life, and Sam found his in flying, said Kaitlin Sells, who met Lilley while they were students at Georgia Southern University.Lilley was the first officer aboard the American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members that collided midair Wednesday night with an Army helicopter carrying three soldiers, legislators in Georgia said. Authorities say there were no survivors after the two aircraft plummeted into the Potomac River in the countrys deadliest aviation disaster since 2001. At least 28 bodies have been pulled from the icy waters of the river as recovery operations continue.Lilley and the rest of the American Airlines crew were traveling on a daily direct route from Wichita, Kansas, to Washington, D.C., at the time of the collision. The soldiers aboard the Black Hawk helicopter were conducting an annual night proficiency training flight, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, adding they were a fairly experienced crew.Here is what we know so far about some members of the two flight crews: Sam LilleyLilleys father, Timothy Lilley, told WAGA-TV in Atlanta that he was in Washington waiting for answers.This is undoubtedly the worst day of my life, said Timothy Lilley, who also is a longtime pilot and served as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot for 20 years, noting he flew similar routes in and out of the Pentagon. I was so proud when Sam became a pilot, he wrote on Facebook. Now it hurts so bad I cant even cry myself to sleep. I know Ill see him again but my heart is breaking.Timothy Lilley said his son was excelling in his career and personal life at the time of his death and was engaged to be married later this year. Sam Lilley graduated in 2018 with a degree in marketing but decided to become a pilot. He had earlier graduated from Richmond Hill High School, just south of Savannah, Georgia, where he had been an active member of Coastal Community Christian Church.A local news story from 2011 highlighted his efforts to raise money to build a water well in a Zambian village.Sells, his friend from college, said there was no one better suited to be a pilot.There was no one that cared more. There was no one that was more passionate, Sells said, saying Lilley valued taking care of people and them putting their trust in him.Outside the plane, Lilley was devoted to making others happy and the type of person who always was the first onto a dance floor, Sells said.I dont think Ive ever seen that man in a bad mood, spreading negativity, Sells said. He was the type of person where if someone was not having a good time or someone was upset, he would do everything in his power to pull them out of it. Jonathan CamposThe captain of the American Airlines flight was 34-year-old Jonathan Campos, according to multiple media reports. His aunt, Beverly Lane, told the New York Times that Campos had wanted to be a pilot since the age of 3.I think he wanted to be free, and be able to fly and soar like a bird, Lane said.She told the newspaper she talked with Campos on Wednesday, just before the fateful flight. He told her he was looking forward to an upcoming Caribbean cruise with family. Campos was a 2015 graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he studied Aeronautical Science, according to the university.Danasia ElderDanasia Elder was a flight attendant on the commercial flight, WSOC-TV in Charlotte, North Carolina, reported.Elders brother-in-law, Brandon Payne, described her as full of life, highlighting her love for God, her kids and travel. She was married with two children, Kayden and Dallas.She was a great wife, a great parent, a great friend, Payne told the news station. She was very bright, very smart. She was an entrepreneur. This flight attendant thing was kind of like one of her dreams she wanted to do.Payne said he is proud of his sister-in-law for pursuing her dream.She would want yall do the same thing she did. Chase your dreams, no matter what. Dont let nothing scare you, push you away. Just believe in yourself, believe in God, and follow the path, Payne said. Ryan OHaraRyan OHara was one of three soldiers aboard the Black Hawk helicopter.Ryan was just the most committed, disciplined person I remember working with, said Josh Muehlendorf, a senior instructor pilot in the U.S. Army. He had such great integrity.The two flew together numerous times on the same route in D.C. several years prior to the fatal crash and OHara took rules and procedures seriously, according to Mehlendorf.Ryan was one of those crew chiefs who always had our back, he said. Its really hard to stomach a guy as professional and excellent as he was. Andrew EavesMississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said on the social platform X that the state was mourning the death of Andrew Eaves, who was also aboard the Army helicopter.Eaves was from the small town of Brooksville in eastern Mississippi, Reeves said.His wife Carrie Eaves confirmed he was on the helicopter in a Facebook post Thursday.We ask that you pray for our family and friends and for all the other families that are suffering today. We ask for peace while we grieve, the post read.She also asked that people refrain from posting negative comments on social media.These families children do not need to suffer more pain, she wrote.___Yamat reported from Las Vegas. Associated Press journalists Nadia Lathan in Austin, Texas, and Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed. JEFF AMY Amy covers Georgia politics and state government for The Associated Press. He began work with the AP in 2011 and covered Mississippi for eight years before transferring to the Atlanta bureau in 2019. twitter RIO YAMAT Yamat covers Nevada and the U.S. Southwest for The Associated Press. She is based in Las Vegas. twitter mailto

Brexit supporters gather during a rally in London, Friday, Jan. 31, 2020. Britain officially leaves the European Union on Friday after a debilitating political period that has bitterly divided the nation since the 2016 Brexit referendum. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)2025-01-31T05:50:11Z LONDON (AP) Five years ago Friday, two crowds of people gathered near Britains Parliament some with Union Jacks and cheers, others European Union flags and tears.On Jan. 31, 2020 at 11 p.m. London time midnight at EU headquarters in Brussels the U.K. officially left the bloc after almost five decades of membership that had brought free movement and free trade between Britain and 27 other European countries.For Brexit supporters, the U.K. was now a sovereign nation in charge of its own destiny. For opponents, it was an isolated and diminished country.It was, inarguably, a divided nation that had taken a leap into the dark. Five years on, people and businesses are still wrestling with the economic, social and cultural aftershocks.The impact has been really quite profound, said political scientist Anand Menon, who heads the think-tank U.K. in a Changing Europe. Its changed our economy.And our politics has been changed quite fundamentally as well, he added. Weve seen a new division around Brexit becoming part of electoral politics. A decision that split the nationAn island nation with a robust sense of its historical importance, Britain had long been an uneasy member of the EU when it held a referendum in June 2016 on whether to remain or leave. Decades of deindustrialization, followed by years of public spending cuts and high immigration, made fertile ground for the argument that Brexit would let the U.K. take back control of its borders, laws and economy.Yet the result 52% to 48% in favor of leaving came as a shock to many. Neither the Conservative government, which campaigned to stay in the EU, nor pro-Brexit campaigners had planned for the messy details of the split.The referendum was followed by years of wrangling over divorce terms between a wounded EU and a fractious U.K. that caused gridlock in Parliament and ultimately defeated Prime Minister Theresa May. She resigned in 2019 and was replaced by Boris Johnson, who vowed to get Brexit done.It wasnt so simple. A blow to the British economyThe U.K. left without agreement on its future economic relationship with the EU, which accounted for half the countrys trade. The political departure was followed by 11 months of testy negotiations on divorce terms, culminating in agreement on Christmas Eve in 2020.The bare-bones trade deal saw the U.K. leave the blocs single market and customs union. It meant goods could move without tariffs or quotas, but brought new red tape, costs and delays for trading businesses.It has cost us money. We are definitely slower and its more expensive. But weve survived, said Lars Andersen, whose London-based company, My Nametags, ships brightly colored labels for kids clothes and school supplies to more than 150 countries.To keep trading with the EU, Andersen has had to set up a base in Ireland, through which all orders destined for EU countries must pass before being sent on. He says the hassle has been worth it, but some other small businesses he knows have stopped trading with the EU or moved manufacturing out of the U.K. Julianne Ponan, founder and CEO of allergen-free food producer Creative Nature, had a growing export business to EU countries that was devastated by Brexit. Since then she has successfully turned to markets in the Middle East and Australia, something she says has been a positive outcome of leaving the EU.Having mastered the new red tape, she is now gradually building up business with Europe again.But weve lost four years of growth there, she said. And thats the sad part. We would be a lot further ahead in our journey if Brexit hadnt happened.The governments Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that U.K. exports and imports will both be around 15% lower in the long run than if the U.K. had remained in the EU, and economic productivity 4% less than it otherwise would have been.Brexit supporters argue that short-term pain will be offset by Britains new freedom to strike trade deals around the world. Since Brexit. the U.K. has signed trade agreements with countries including Australia, New Zealand and Canada. But David Henig, a trade expert at the European Center for International Political Economy, said they have not offset the hit to trade with Britains nearest neighbors.The big players arent so much affected, Henig said. We still have Airbus, we still have Scotch whisky. We still do defense, big pharmaceuticals. But the mid-size players are really struggling to keep their exporting position. And nobody new is coming in to set up.A lesson in unintended consequencesIn some ways, Brexit has not played out as either supporters or opponents anticipated. The COVID-19 pandemic and Russias invasion of Ukraine piled on more economic disruption, and made it harder to discern the impact of Britains EU exit on the economy.In one key area, immigration, Brexits impact has been the opposite of what many predicted. A desire to reduce immigration was a major reason many people voted to leave the EU, yet immigration today is far higher than before Brexit because the number of visas granted for workers from around the world has soared. Meanwhile, the rise of protectionist political leaders, especially newly returned U.S. President Donald Trump, has raised the stakes for Britain, now caught between its near neighbors in Europe and its trans-Atlantic special relationship with the U.S.The world is a far less forgiving place now than it was in 2016 when we voted to leave, Menon said.Can Britain and the EU be friends again?Polls suggest U.K. public opinion has soured on Brexit, with a majority of people now thinking it was a mistake. But rejoining seems a distant prospect. With memories of arguments and division still raw, few people want to go through all that again.Labour Party Prime Minister Keir Starmer, elected in July 2024, has promised to reset relations with the EU, but has ruled out rejoining the customs union or single market. Hes aiming for relatively modest changes such as a making it easier for artists to tour and for professionals to have their qualifications recognized, as well as on closer cooperation on law enforcement and security.EU leaders have welcomed the change of tone from Britain, but have problems of their own amid growing populism across the continent. The U.K. is no longer a top priority.I completely understand, its difficult to get back together after quite a harsh divorce, said Andersen, who nonetheless hopes Britain and the EU will draw closer with time. I suspect it will happen, but it will happen slowly and subtly without politicians particularly shouting about it. JILL LAWLESS Lawless is an Associated Press reporter covering U.K. politics and more. She is based in London. twitter mailto

National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy speaks during a press conference at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va., as board members look on. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)2025-01-31T05:02:38Z WASHINGTON (AP) A collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people brought renewed focus on the federal agency charged with investigating aviation disasters.National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Hommendy described the investigation into the crash Wednesday night as an all-hands-on-deck event for the agency during a news conference Thursday in which she appeared with members of the board and a senior investigator overseeing the probe.Here are some things to know about the NTSB: What does the agency do?The NTSB is an independent federal agency responsible for investigating all civil aviation accidents as well as serious incidents in the U.S. involving other modes of transportation, such as railroad disasters and major accidents involving motor vehicles, marine vessels, pipelines and even commercial space operators.Were here to ensure the American people that we are going to leave no stone unturned in this investigation, Hommendy said, noting the probe is in the very early stages. We are going to conduct a thorough investigation of this entire tragedy, looking at the facts.The agency has five board members who serve five-year terms and are nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. How will the investigation work?For the investigation into Wednesdays crash, the NTSB will establish several different working groups, each responsible for investigating different areas connected to the accident, board member Todd Inman said.Inman said those groups include operations, which will examine flight history and crewmember duties; structures, which will document airframe wreckage and the accident scene; power plants, which will focus on aircraft engines and engine accessories; systems, which will study the electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic components of the two aircraft; air traffic control, which will review flight track surveillance information, including radar, and controller-pilot communications; survival factors, which will analyze the injuries to the crew and passengers and crash and rescue efforts; and a helicopter group. The investigation also will include a human-performance group that will be a part of the operations, air traffic control and helicopter groups and will study the crew performance and any factors that could be involved such as human error, including fatigue, medications, medical histories, training and workload, Inman said. How long will the investigation take?NTSB officials did not say Thursday how long the investigation would take, but accident investigations often take between one to two years to complete. The agency typically releases a preliminary report within a few weeks of the accident that includes a synopsis of information collected at the scene.What is the NTSBs history?The NTSB history dates to 1926, when Congress passed a law charging the U.S. Department of Commerce with investigating aircraft accidents.It was established as an independent agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation in 1967 and then separated by Congress in 1974 as a stand-alone organization, fully independent from any other federal agencies.Since its creation in 1967, the agency reports it has investigated more than 153,000 aviation accidents and incidents.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks after being sworn in by Vice President JD Vance in the Vice Presidential Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-01-31T05:05:12Z WASHINGTON (AP) Trump administration changes have upended the U.S. agency charged with providing humanitarian aid to countries overseas, with dozens of senior officials put on leave, thousands of contractors laid off, and a sweeping freeze imposed on billions of dollars in foreign assistance. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the pause on foreign assistance Thursday, saying the U.S. government is not a charity.Aid organizations say the funding freeze and deep confusion over what U.S.-funded programs must stop work as a result has left them agonizing over whether they could continue operating programs such as those providing round-the-clock nutritional support to extremely malnourished infants and children, knowing that closing the doors means that many of those children would die.Current and former officials at the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development say staffers were invited to submit requests to exempt certain programs from the foreign aid freeze, which President Donald Trump imposed Jan. 20 and the State Department detailed how to execute on Jan. 24. Three days later, at least 56 senior career USAID staffers were abruptly placed on administrative leave. Three officials said many of those put on leave were lawyers involved in determining what programs might qualify for waivers, helping write proposals and submitting those waiver requests as they believed they had been invited to do. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. A Trump administration directive that aid organizations interpret as a gag order has left them unwilling to speak publicly for fear of permanently losing U.S. funding.In an internal memo Monday about the staffing changes, new acting USAID administrator Jason Gray said the agency had identified several actions within USAID that appear to be designed to circumvent the Presidents Executive Orders and the mandate from the American people. As a result, we have placed a number of USAID employees on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice while we complete our analysis of these actions, Gray wrote.A former senior USAID official said those put on leave had been helping aid organizations navigate the confusing process to seek waivers from the aid pause for specific life-saving projects, such as continuing clean water supplies for displaced people in war zones.Others were identified as having been involved in diversity, equity and inclusion programming, which the administration has banned.On Thursday, a USAID human resources official who tried to reverse the action, saying there was no justification for it, was himself placed on leave, according to two of the officials who had viewed internal emails and verified them as authentic. Reporters from ProPublica and Vox first reported the emails on X.The State Department and White House didnt respond to messages seeking comment about the staffing changes.The new leaders at USAID also abruptly laid off contractors who made up about half the workforce in the agencys humanitarian bureau Tuesday, knocking them out of systems so that some vanished in the middle of videoconferences, the former senior official said. The targeted institutional service contractors do everything from administrative and travel support to grant processing and data analytics. The staffing changes came three days after the State Department issued guidelines last Friday for implementing Trumps executive order freezing foreign assistance for 90 days. The department says its reviewing the money the United States is spending to ensure it adheres to administration policy. The guidelines initially exempted only military aid to Israel and Egypt and emergency food programs but also said program administrators and implementors could apply for waivers for programs that they believe would meet administration standards. On Tuesday, Rubio issued a broader waiver for programs that provide other life-saving assistance, including medicine, medical services, food and shelter, and again pointed to the possibility of waivers. Rubio pointed to the broadened exemptions in an interview Thursday with SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly. We dont want to see people die and the like, he said.Rubio said there would be a program-by-program review of which projects make America safer, stronger or more prosperous.The step of shutting down U.S.-funded programs during the 90-day review meant the U.S. was getting a lot more cooperation from recipients of humanitarian, development and security assistance, Rubio said. Because otherwise you dont get your money.The State Department said that since the aid freeze went into effect, it has approved dozens of waivers, although many were returned because they did not include enough detail. It said waiver requests for programs costing billions of dollars have been received and are being reviewed. The department did not specify how many waiver requests had been denied but said thus far its actions had stopped more than $1 billion from being spent on programs and projects that are not aligned with an America First agenda.Even with the broadening of exemptions for life-saving care, uncertainty surrounds what U.S.-funded programs legally can continue. Hundreds of thousands of people globally are going without access to medicine and humanitarian supplies and clinics are not getting medicine in time because of the funding freeze, aid organizations warn.AP reporter Rebecca Santana in Washington contributed. ELLEN KNICKMEYER Foreign policy, national security, foreign policy & climate twitter

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken walks during a visit to the site of Moldelectrica Chisinau Substation in Braila, a USAID supported project, south of the capital of Moldova, Wednesday, May 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)2025-01-31T06:19:02Z CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) President Donald Trumps abrupt freeze of U.S. foreign aid is sending shockwaves through Eastern Europe, leaving pro-democracy groups, independent media, civil society initiatives and local governments scrambling to make ends meet in a region often defined by rivalries between East and West. The U.S. State Department said that the 90-day freeze aims to root out waste and block so-called woke programs to expose U.S.-funded activities that run contrary to our national interests as Trump aggressively rolls out his America First agenda. Fears of a rise in influence from Russia and ChinaEastern Europe has been a longtime geopolitical battleground where Western foreign policy interests often collide with those of Moscow or Beijing.Many fear the cessation of U.S. funds could expose Washingtons allies and create a vacuum that its foes could gladly seek to fill.In Moldovas case, foreign donor support is vital to balancing the media landscape, says Oxana Greadcenco, the director of independent media platform Moldova.org. Many television networks and media institutions are funded by Russia so there needs to be a counterbalance ... This is an unprecedented situation, but we are trying not to panic. The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, informed her that grants officially ended on Jan. 24 and they arent allowed to spend any remaining funds in their accounts. This week, Greadcenco promoted their online Patreon campaign, which garnered 135 new backers in two days, which should cover salaries for the platforms 16-strong staff through March, she said. We did not expect it to impact Moldova so severely, as we thought there would only be a partial cut in funds, she told The Associated Press. Being aware of how much Moldova depends on U.S. funds, not just NGOs and the press but also local municipalities, many public institutions this is a shock for everyone. Vital aid for former communist countries Since the 1990s, USAID has invested several billion dollars in countries like Moldova, Serbia, Albania, Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina all former communist countries with aspirations of joining the European Union. In these countries, USAID money has promoted democratic institutions and reforms, aided infrastructure and energy security projects, bolstered businesses and economies, and supported a significant number of nongovernmental organizations and independent media platforms. The agency says it tailors its approach to each countrys unique challenges and opportunities.Its no exaggeration to say that we have democracy in Moldova, in part thanks to American financial support, Valeriu Pasa, the chairman of the Chisinau-based think-tank WatchDog, said in a statement on Wednesday. He added that the U.S. benefits from us being more democratic and developed, ensuring we dont turn into a Russian or Chinese colony.The wide-ranging effects of the USAID spending freeze spanning different sectors highlight how critical the funds are to the region.Sytrime Dervisholi, executive director of the Prefabricated Construction Association of Kosovo, says the halted USAID funds will adversely affect her associations ability to provide technical assistance to member companies that require vocational education and training, and access to grants. Kosovo, but also our association is dependent on foreign aid, mostly on U.S. aid, she said. So we really do hope that this measure will be canceled after 90 days, when the funding reviews by U.S. officials have concluded.Safet Gerxhaliu, an independent economic analyst in Kosovo, also believes the USAID freeze could have a very negative impact on the countrys future, affecting everything from the government to the private sector and education.I do believe that the impact is very bad, because those measures come at the same time that Kosovo is under sanctions from the European community, he said. Brussels froze some funding to Kosovo in 2023 following a series of clashes with ethnic Serb minorities.Although Serbia obtained EU candidate status in 2012, the Balkan nation is also a key ally of Russia and China in Europe. Under the government of populist President Aleksandar Vucic, reforms in areas such as strengthening the rule of law and tackling corruption have been slow, and the USAID suspension could further hamper progress. We currently have a USAID project about public financing. Training for local NGOs regarding following of public finances, Nemanja Nenadic from Transparency International organization in Serbia, told the AP. This has been put on hold. US funds help monitor electionsFor the Promo-LEX Association, a longtime pro-democracy and human rights NGO in Moldova, USAID funds are vital since they account for about 75-80% of its projects, which include monitoring elections, political financing and parliamentary oversight.All USAID-funded activities have been put on hold. Without immediate alternative support, these crucial activities may not continue at the same scale or effectiveness, said Ion Manole, the associations executive director. Given previous Russian interference through illicit campaign funding, political corruption, and disinformation our observation mission is essential to ensuring electoral transparency. Moldova will hold a pivotal parliamentary election this fall which comes after the pro-Western government accused Russia of meddling in two key votes last year including backing a vast vote-buying scheme in the country of about 2.5 million people.Without resources, we cannot deploy long-term observers, conduct election-day monitoring, or track foreign interference effectively, Manole said. A change to an anti-Western government could affect Moldovas European path and ... significantly destabilize the whole of Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region.We remain hopeful that the U.S. governments evaluation process will allow programs like ours to resume, he said, adding that his NGO is already seeking alternative funding, mainly from European donors. A geopolitical opportunity for Moscow Cristian Cantir, a Moldovan associate professor of international relations at Oakland University, told the AP that any suspension of aid gives Russia an unnecessary opportunity to exploit and benefit further from Moldovas weaknesses, which the lack of USAID funding would exacerbate.Moscow would therefore have greater abilities to derail Chisinau from its European Union integration course, he said. Similarly, cutting funding to independent news outlets makes it more difficult for journalists to hold corrupt politicians many of whom have connections to Russia accountable and therefore weakens Moldovas sovereignty and institutional independence.The Trump administration has cast the aid freeze as an accountability quest to justify American spending abroad. Beyond support for Ukraine in recent years, the U.S. is spending about $40 billion in foreign aid annually, according to the U.S. State Department.Greadcenco of the Moldova.org news platform hopes that other international partners will consider stepping in to stem a potential longer-term shortfall. These funds are vital to keeping Moldova afloat, she said. I dread to think what the complete cessation of these funds would mean for our country.___Stephen McGrath reported from Sighisoara, Romania. Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia, Llazar Semini in Tirana, Albania, and Florent Bajrami in Pristina, Kosovo, contributed to this report. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

FILE -Released hostage Ilana Gritzewsky poses for a portrait in her apartment in Kiryat Gat, Israel, on Dec. 15, 2024, near photos of her boyfriend, Matan Zangauker, who is being held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov), File)2025-01-31T05:13:15Z TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) When Ilana Gritzewsky returned to Israel after being held captive in Gaza for 55 days in November 2023, she had so much adrenaline coursing through her body she couldnt sleep for two days.You dont understand that its really over, Gritzewsky recalled. You dont know who you are or even what your name is. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is underway and hostages are being released in stages. But after the initial jubilation of being freed, the released captives who have been held for more than 15 months are likely to endure a trying reentry, based on the testimony of those who were held hostage themselves.Gritzewsky, 31, who is originally from Mexico, was kidnapped with her boyfriend from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants burst across the border, killing around 1,200 people, and kidnapping around 250 people, in an attack that sparked the war in Gaza. Gritzewsky was released after 55 days during the only previous ceasefire deal a year ago. More than a year later, Gritzewsky has lingering health issues. She hasnt regained all of the weight that she lost, shes prediabetic, and has lingering pain issues from the kidnapping, when her pelvis and jaw were broken and her leg was burned from the motorcycle exhaust. She suffered hearing loss in one ear. Im still not able to really take care of myself, she said. I dont think my brain has really grasped everything Ive gone through. Shes acknowledges she has neglected her own recovery as she advocates tirelessly for her boyfriends release.Fifteen hostages have been released from Gaza, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, as the current ceasefire for the war that has devastated Gaza moves into its second full week. More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and wide swaths of the territory have been destroyed. Hamas is expected to release small groups weekly throughout the ceasefires initial six-week phase. There are approximately 80 hostages left in Gaza, almost half of whom Israel believes to be dead. The joy of a warm embrace, and a new reality sets inWhen Gritzewsky was freed, she was able to do what she had dreamed of during her captivity: hug her mother and see her family.She was desperate for a good steak, but due to concerns about health complications spurred by eating too much or too quickly in those with prolonged vitamin and nutritional deficiencies, it took time before she could eat what she wanted.Youre used to hostage conditions, so whenever you get food you put some to the side. You ask if you can go to the bathroom, if you can sleep, she said.The leadup to her release was traumatic. Gritzewsky said she was told four times she was being released, only to be brought to a different location. Each time her transfer didnt lead to freedom.I thought this was going to be my life forever, that I was going to be a doll for Hamas terrorists, Id end up having babies with them, I wanted to just smash my head into the wall and die, she said.Watching the released hostages enter Israel over the past week was a storm of emotions, said Gritzewsky. Its finally starting. Our heroes are starting to come out, and theyre leaving on their own two feet, she said. But theres also uncertainty about whether the ceasefire will hold. Gritzewskys boyfriend, Matan Zangauker, 25, is not on the list of 33 hostages expected to be released in the first stage of the ceasefire.Hostages must adjust to regaining their autonomyThe hostages stay in the hospital for several days as they undergo a battery of tests to determine next steps. All 15 of the hostages released over the past two weeks returned in stable condition but were suffering from mild starvation and vitamin deficiencies, according to Dr. Ami Banov, an Israeli military doctor who has treated the released hostages. He said many of them suffered injuries in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack and that the medical care they received was nonexistent or poor quality. Many of them still have pieces of shrapnel in their body.Some of the women who have returned recently said they were held in tunnels and deprived of sunlight for at least eight months straight, said Banov, which can lead to major vision or skin issues. Those who were held in captivity with others seem to be faring better mentally than hostages who were kept alone, he said. Each hostage is accompanied by a dedicated team of doctors, nurses, specialists, psychologists, and social workers, medical officials said.One of the most important things is allowing the returned hostage to lead the recovery, explained Ofrit Shapira, a psychoanalyst who heads a group of health professionals treating freed hostages, their families, and survivors of the Oct. 7 attack. Everyone treating them must ask their permission for each little thing, from turning off a light to changing bedsheets to carrying out medical tests. They took everything away that defines them as humans, especially privacy and autonomy, and its a challenge to help them regain that, she said.Doctors refer to this process as grounding said Banov, who likened it to a decompression process, gradually helping the hostages understand they have regained control over such decisions as what to eat, what to wear and where and when to meet their families.We feel obligated to give them the option to do whatever they feel right, he said. But he said everything is being done in very small steps.Adina Moshe was freed after 49 days in captivity. In a first-person account on the Israeli news site N12, she said some hostages will return knowing little about any destruction to their homes or the fates of their loved ones. They will remain suspicious of people and have to contend with aggressive media. Any improvement in their condition can easily reverse, she said.In their souls, they will continue to remain in the tunnels for a long time, she wrote.It will take a long time to repair wounds of the soulAvichai Brodutch, whose wife and three children were kidnapped on Oct. 7 from Kibbutz Kfar Aza will never forget waiting for them to return in the hospital and the moment he saw them for the first time.The elevator doors opened and I got my family, reborn, he said. Brodutch said the return was both overwhelming and joyful because he feared his family had been killed during Hamas initial attack. He said they returned thin and lice-ridden.The physical issues were quickly treated. But Brodutch said captivity left a lasting imprint on his familys mental well-being. Each day, he hears a new story about something that happened in Gaza. They relive Oct. 7 over and over, and the challenges remain largest for his wife, Hagar, who cared for their three children and a neighbors child, Abigail Edan, then 3, while in captivity.Its going to take a long time to repair the wounds of the soul, he said. MELANIE LIDMAN Lidman is an Associated Press reporter based in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Israeli captive Arbel Yehoud, 29, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters as she is handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)2025-01-31T10:22:04Z Israeli strikes hit an unofficial border crossing in eastern Lebanon early Friday morning, killing two people and wounding 10, according to Lebanons Health Ministry.The Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a military site that included underground infrastructure for developing and producing combat equipment, in addition to infrastructure for crossing the Syrian-Lebanese border, used by the militant group Hezbollah in the Bekaa Valley.Hamas also released the names of three male hostages set to be released Saturday in the fourth round of exchanges in the ceasefire deal that has paused fighting in Gaza.The previous day in Gaza, Hamas released eight hostages in exchange for 110 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.The chaotic sight of armed fighters escorting Israeli hostages through a crowd of thousands of onlookers caused Israeli leaders to briefly delay the release of the Palestinian prisoners, underscoring the fragility of the current truce. ___Heres the latest: Hamas releases names of hostages to be released in next exchange Hamas released the names of three male hostages set to be released Saturday. The list of hostages to be released includes Yarden Bibas, 35, Keith Siegel, 65, and Ofer Kalderon, 54, Israeli officials confirmed, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.Saturdays release will be the fourth since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire took effect. Yarden Bibas was taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7. Photos taken during the abduction appear to show him wounded. His wife, Shiri, and two boys, Ariel and Kfir, were also taken captive at the kibbutz. Hamas has claimed that Shiri Bibas and the two boys were killed in an Israeli airstrike, but Israel has not verified the claim.Keith Siegel, an American Israeli originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was taken hostage from Kibbutz Kfar Aza along with his wife, Aviva Siegel. Aviva Siegel was released during a brief ceasefire period in November 2023, and since then has waged a high-profile campaign to free Keith and the other hostages remaining in Gaza.Kalderon, a French-Israeli hostage, was captured by the militants from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with his two children. His ex-wife, Hadas, was also taken captive. The two children and Hadas Kalderon were released during the hostage exchange in November. Israeli strikes hit LebanonBEIRUT Two people were killed and 10 others were wounded in an Israeli strike on an unofficial border crossing in eastern Lebanon early Friday morning, Lebanons Health Ministry said.The Israeli military said in a statement that it struck a military site that included underground infrastructure for developing and producing combat equipment, in addition to infrastructure for crossing the Syrian-Lebanese border, used by the militant group Hezbollah in the Bekaa Valley.The statement also accused Hezbollah of launching a reconnaissance drone toward Israel Thursday, saying its a violation of the ceasefire agreement that halted the Israel-Hezbollah war in late November.Lebanons state news agency said Israel launched four strikes on the Janta border crossing in the eastern province of Baalbeck, while two other strikes targeted two illegal Syria-Lebanon border crossings in northern Lebanon late Thursday and early Friday. In a statment, Hezbollah legislator Ibrahim Moussawi called the strikes a very dangerous violation and a blatant and explicit aggression, adding that the Lebanese state, represented by the presidency, the government and the army, is required to take immediate action.Hezbollah has long relied on Iran for weapons, moving arms into Lebanon through Syria. Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem has said that the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad disrupted that route, and that the group will find alternative supply channels.

Gunnar Kaasen and with his dog Balto, the heroic dogsled team leader, sit for a portrait in the early 1920s. (AP Photo, File)2025-01-31T05:01:51Z ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) The Alaska Gold Rush town of Nome faced a bleak winter. It was hundreds of miles from anywhere, cut off by the frozen sea and unrelenting blizzards, and under siege from a contagious disease known as the strangling angel for the way it suffocated children.Now, 100 years later, Nome is remembering its saviors the sled dogs and mushers who raced for more than five days through hypothermia, frostbite, gale-force winds and blinding whiteouts to deliver life-saving serum and free the community from the grip of diphtheria. Gunnar Kaasen poses with his original dog team, including his lead dog Balto, top row, second left, in 1925, which he drove through a blinding blizzard to deliver life-saving serum, in Nome, Alaska. (AP Photo, File) Gunnar Kaasen poses with his original dog team, including his lead dog Balto, top row, second left, in 1925, which he drove through a blinding blizzard to deliver life-saving serum, in Nome, Alaska. (AP Photo, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Among the events celebrating the centennial of the 1925 Great Race of Mercy are lectures, a dog-food drive and a reenactment of the final leg of the relay, all organized by the Nome Kennel Club. Remembering the mushers and dogs for heroic effortTheres a lot of fluff around celebrations like this, but we wanted to remember the mushers and their dogs who have been at the center of this heroic effort and ... spotlight mushing as a still-viable thing for the state of Alaska, said Diana Haecker, a kennel club board member and co-owner of Alaskas oldest newspaper, the Nome Nugget. Leonhard Seppala and his sled dog team are pictured on Oct. 12, 1928, in Alaska. In 1925, Seppala was part of the nearly 700-mile relay of mushers and dog teams to get diphtheria antitoxin to Nome, Alaska, during a deadly outbreak of the disease. (AP Photo, File) Leonhard Seppala and his sled dog team are pictured on Oct. 12, 1928, in Alaska. In 1925, Seppala was part of the nearly 700-mile relay of mushers and dog teams to get diphtheria antitoxin to Nome, Alaska, during a deadly outbreak of the disease. (AP Photo, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More People just dropped whatever they were doing, she said. These mushers got their teams ready and went, even though it was really cold and challenging conditions on the trail.Other communities are also marking the anniversary including the village of Nenana, where the relay began, and Cleveland, Ohio, where the serum runs most famous participant, a husky mix named Balto, is stuffed and displayed at a museum. Jonathan Hayes, a Maine resident who has been working to preserve the genetic line of sled dogs driven on the run by famed musher Leonhard Seppala, is recreating the trip. Hayes left Nenana on Monday with 16 Seppala Siberian sled dogs, registered descendants of Seppalas team. The historic trek to neutralize the diphtheria epidemic in NomeDiphtheria is an airborne disease that causes a thick, suffocating film to develop at the back of the throat; it was once a leading cause of death for children. The antitoxin used to treat it was developed in 1890, and a vaccine in 1923; it is now exceedingly rare in the U.S.Nome, western Alaskas largest community, had about 1,400 residents a century ago. Its most recent supply ship had arrived the previous fall, before the Bering Sea froze, without any doses of the antitoxin. Those the local doctor, Curtis Welch, had were outdated, but he wasnt worried. He hadnt seen a case of diphtheria in the 18 years he had practiced in the area.Within months, that changed. In a telegram, Welch pleaded with the U.S. Public Health Service to send serum: An epidemic of diphtheria is almost inevitable here.The first death was a 3-year-old boy on Jan. 20, 1925, followed the next day by a 7-year-old girl. By the end of the month, there were more than 20 confirmed cases. The city was placed under quarantine.West Coast hospitals had antitoxin doses, but it would take time to get them to Seattle and then onto a ship for Seward, an ice-free port south of Anchorage. In the meantime, enough for 30 people was found at an Anchorage hospital. It still had to get to Nome. Airplanes with open-air cockpits were ruled out as unsuited for the weather. There were no roads or trains that reached Nome.Instead, officials shipped the serum by rail to Nenana in interior Alaska, some 675 miles (1,086 kilometers) from Nome via the frozen Yukon River and mail trails.Thanks to Alaskas new telegraph lines and the spread of radio, the nation followed along, captivated, as 20 mushers many of them Alaska Natives with more than 150 dogs relayed the serum to Nome. They battled deep snow, whiteouts so severe they couldnt see the dogs in front of them, and life-threatening temperatures that plunged at times to minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 51 degrees Celsius).The antitoxin was transported in glass vials covered with padded quilts. Not a single vial broke. In this image published on Jan. 23, 1928, and provided by the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, NYWT&S Collection, shows Leonhard Seppala winner of the first annual sled dog race held at the Lake Placid Club Seven teams competed in Lake Placid, N.Y. (Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, NYWT&S Collection via AP) In this image published on Jan. 23, 1928, and provided by the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, NYWT&S Collection, shows Leonhard Seppala winner of the first annual sled dog race held at the Lake Placid Club Seven teams competed in Lake Placid, N.Y. (Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, NYWT&S Collection via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Seppala, a Norwegian settler, left from Nome to meet the supply near the halfway point and begin the journey back. His team, led by his dog Togo, traveled more than 250 miles (320 kilometers) of the relay, including a treacherous stretch across frozen Norton Sound. After about 5 1/2 days, the serum reached its destination on Feb. 2, 1925. A banner front-page headline in the San Francisco Chronicle proclaimed: Dogs victors over blizzard in battle to succor stricken Nome. The official record listed five deaths and 29 illnesses. Its likely the toll was higher; Alaska Natives were not accurately tracked. Gunnar Kaasen and with his dog Balto, the heroic dogsled team leader, sit for a portrait in the early 1920s. (AP Photo, File) Gunnar Kaasen and with his dog Balto, the heroic dogsled team leader, sit for a portrait in the early 1920s. (AP Photo, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Balto gains fame as unlikely dog to bring serum to NomeSeppala and Togo missed the limelight that went to his assistant, Gunnar Kaasen, who drove the dog team led by Balto into Nome. Balto was another of Seppalas dogs, but was used to only haul freight after he was deemed too slow to be on a competitive team.Balto was immortalized in movies and with statues in New Yorks Central Park and one in Anchorage intended as a tribute to all sled dogs. He received a bone-shaped key to the city of Los Angeles, where legendary movie actress Mary Pickford placed a wreath around his neck. The statue erected to honor Balto and other heroic sled dogs who carried serum to Nome, Alaska, through an Arctic blizzard is covered in snow in New Yorks Central Park, Dec. 11, 1947. (AP Photo/Anthony Camerano, File) The statue erected to honor Balto and other heroic sled dogs who carried serum to Nome, Alaska, through an Arctic blizzard is covered in snow in New Yorks Central Park, Dec. 11, 1947. (AP Photo/Anthony Camerano, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More But he and several team members were eventually sold and kept in squalid conditions at a dime museum in Los Angeles. After learning of their plight, an Ohio businessman spearheaded an effort to raise money to bring them to Cleveland. After dying in 1933, Balto was mounted and placed on display at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.Iditarod pays homage to the serum runToday, the most famous mushing event in the world is the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, which is not based on the serum run but on the Iditarod Trail, a supply route from Seward to Nome. Iditarod organizers are nevertheless marking the serum runs centennial, with a series of articles on its website and by selling replicas of the medallions each serum run musher received a century ago, race spokesperson Shannon Noonan said in an email. This years Iditarod starts March 1.The Serum Run demonstrated the critical role sled dogs played in the survival and communication of remote Alaskan communities, while the Iditarod has evolved into a celebration of that tradition and Alaskas pioneering spirit, Noonan said. MARK THIESSEN Thiessen is an Associated Press all-formats reporter based in Anchorage, Alaska. He covers Alaska Native issues and other general assignments. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President Donald Trump's nominee to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services, testifies during a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing for his pending confirmation on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)2025-01-31T10:00:08Z WASHINGTON (AP) The man who hopes to be President Donald Trumps health secretary repeatedly asked to see data or science showing vaccines are safe but when an influential Republican senator did so, he dismissed it.Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spent two days this week insisting to senators that hes not anti-vaccine. He said that he instead supports vaccinations and will follow the science in overseeing the $1.7 trillion Department of Health and Human Services, which, among other duties, oversees vaccine research, approval and recommendations. But Kennedy repeatedly refused to acknowledge scientific consensus that childhood vaccines dont cause autism and that COVID-19 vaccines saved millions of lives, and he falsely asserted the government has no good vaccine safety monitoring. While appearing to ignore mainstream science, he cited flawed or tangential research to make his points, such as suggesting Black people may need different vaccines than whites. His responses raised concern among health experts that Kennedy lacks basic skills needed for the job.He ignores science. He cherry-picks sometimes fraudulent studies. Sometimes he takes well-done studies and takes little pieces of them out of context, said Dr. Sean OLeary of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He worries that Kennedy could further damage public confidence in vaccines and we will see return of diseases that we really havent seen much of and unfortunately children will suffer.Kennedy in many ways demonstrated his lack of capacity to really understand some details around science and evidence that I think he would really need to know, said Dr. Georges Benjamin of the American Public Health Association. The science on vaccines is clear to doctors and scientists but not to Kennedy Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican and physician, said the science is clear that measles and other childhood vaccines are safe and not linked to autism.Kennedy said if shown the data he would recommend those vaccines and not only will I do that but I will apologize for any statements that misled people otherwise.So Cassidy pulled out and read aloud definitive scientific conclusions that vaccines dont cause autism. Kennedy rebuffed him, instead mentioning a recent paper that outside experts have called fundamentally flawed and Cassidy agreed has some issues in an attempt to counter decades of rigorous studies.The senator told Kennedy his history of undermining confidence in vaccines with unfounded or misleading arguments concerns me and risks casting a shadow over President Trumps legacy if people die of vaccine-preventable diseases should he become health secretary.Sen. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat from New Hampshire, said theres a real-world ramification for re-litigating and churning settled science diverting money and time that could be spent finding the real cause of autism.Kennedy ignored science showing COVID-19 saved millions of livesKennedy claimed theres no good surveillance system to know that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and lifesaving.The U.S. tracks vaccine safety through multiple monitoring systems including electronic medical records from a list of health systems. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also checks how vaccines fare internationally, such as during the pandemic when large databases from Israel and the U.K. helped reinforce that the new mRNA vaccines were safe and lowering deaths from the coronavirus.Youre applying for the job -- clearly you should know this, said Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. The scientific community has established that COVID vaccines saved millions of lives and youre casting doubt. Kennedy declines to back a vaccine that prevents cancer in womenAAPs OLeary said there are about 35,000 cases of cancer related to the HPV virus that could be prevented by that vaccine, including 4,000 deaths per year. We are already seeing decreases in the number of cases of HPV-related cancers as a result of HPV vaccination.Kennedy didnt answer directly when asked if he stood by claims that the HPV vaccine could cause cancer or other disease. He instead brought up a pending lawsuit and suggested a jury of non-scientists would decide. Kennedys unfounded comment about race and vaccine schedulesSen. Angela Alsobrooks, a Maryland Democrat, asked Kennedy about prior comments that Black people might need a different vaccination schedule than whites. Alsobrooks, who is Black, asked how Kennedy thought she should have been vaccinated differently.Kennedy referred to some earlier papers suggesting people of African-American ancestry had a stronger immune response to measles and rubella vaccines than white people.Vaccination recommendations arent based on race but on biological factors such as someones age and risk of a specific disease. Some studies show Black Americans are more hesitant than whites to receive certain vaccines.That is so dangerous, Alsobrooks told Kennedy.Theres no evidence that there needs to be a different vaccine schedule based on race, said Dr. Amesh Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Such statements could make different populations wrongly believe well, maybe I dont need as many vaccines as are recommended. ___AP Medical Writer Carla K. Johnson contributed.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers performs during the FireAid benefit concert on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)2025-01-31T10:39:52Z INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) The FireAid benefit was fueled by some of musics best performers to raise money for Los Angeles-area wildfire relief efforts.The event at the Kia Forum and the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, on Thursday night featured a long list of stars including Billie Eilish, Rod Stewart, Dr. Dre and Joni Mitchell during a pair of concerts that mixed stories of heartbreak, music and surprises galore.They started right out of the gate, with Eilish joining Green Day for the first song of the night, leading to a cute moment greeting the bands frontman, Billie Joe Armstrong. Another Billy, comedian Billy Crystal, quickly followed them and reminded everyone of why they were there and watching: to raise money to help rebuild the devastated Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods and other impacted areas.The show ended with a big surprise: Lady Gaga performing an upbeat new song she said she wrote with her fiance specifically for FireAid.Here are some of FireAids outstanding moments: Billy Crystal says Well laugh againCrystal appeared as the first host in the same clothes he was wearing when he fled his family home, which was lost in the Palisades Fire. Then, with his trademark humor and heart, he recalled another national spasm of pain.Crystal reminded the crowd that 23 years before, he attended the Concert for New York City in the wake of 9/11 and had seen grieving attendees holding up signs with pictures of their loved ones, asking if anyone had seen them.And tonight, here I am, talking to all of you in pain, he said. But Im also one of the hurting thousands asking, Have you seen my school? Have you seen my church? Have you seen my house? Have you seen my town? Have you seen the 29 people who lost their lives?On that night in 2001, we were mourning the loss of hundreds of firefighters and police officers and first responders, Crystal said. Tonight, we are here together to thank them and all those who run towards danger while we run to shelter and safety. Crystal said he returned to the wreckage of his home and began to wail: I had not cried like that since I was 15 and I was told that my father had just died. His daughters soon found a rock with the word Laughter engraved in it.He recalled how his uncle at his fathers funeral service made everyone laugh by telling stories and doing magic tricks. It changed my life. I knew at that moment even in your worst pain, folks its OK and its important to laugh, he said.Well laugh again, he said. Lets show the world who we are: Were Los Angeles, one city, one heart. L.A. Strong!Eilishs early surpriseFireAid kicked off with a surprise guest appearance from Grammy winner Eilish.The superstar singer strutted onstage while Green Day performed Last Night on Earth, which includes the lyrics, If I lose everything in the fire/Im sending all my love to you. She stood next to Armstrong as the bands frontman played his guitar.After Eilish finished, she blew kisses to the crowd, who who rose to their feet and threw their lit-up wrists toward the sky. She and the band performed as a series of photos showed devastated homeowners watching their houses burn to the ground. Dr. Dre gives Cali loveDr. Dre took the energy to another level, dashing onto the stage to join Anderson .Paak and Sheila E.As Anderson .Paak introduced him, the crowd erupted with many rising to their feet, some jumping in excitement, as the super producer launched into a couple West Coast hip-hop classics: his 1999 hit Still D.R.E. and Tupac Shakurs 1995 jam California Love, which he produced.Im all about love for me tonight, Dr. Dre said alongside Sheila E. standing behind her drums and Anderson.Paak, who wore a black jersey with Koreatown across his chest.Dr. Dre talked about being in the music game for 40 years before showing his appreciation for the first responders. I appreciate all the first responders and all the firemen who put their lives on the line, he told the crowd.Before Dr. Dres surprise appearance, Anderson .Paak performed Put Me Thru and Come Down from his 2016 album Malibu. Flea sets tone for Chili Peppers closing setRed Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Flea made his signature grand entrance because, of course, he did setting the tone for his bands high-energy finale at the Forum.Wearing nothing but a black Speedo, he flipped onto the stage with a handstand, instantly sending the crowd into a frenzy. Up until that moment, many had been seated, casually watching Lil Babys performance on the venues big screens. But Fleas wild antics had them on their feet in no time.Once they were up, many stayed up. The Chili Peppers kept the energy soaring, tearing through a set packed with their biggest hits such as Californication and Give it Away.LA is our home, Flea said. We love you. Nirvanas reunionThis is probably the closest thing to a Nirvana reunion well ever see. The three surviving members Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl and Pat Smear took the stage for a powerful, nostalgia-fueled performance that left the crowd in awe.A special lineup of St. Vincent, Kim Gordon and Joan Jett filled in for the late Kurt Cobain, the bands frontman who died in 1994. The trio separately delivered renditions of Nirvanas classics including Breed, School and Territorial Pissings.Another poignant moment involved Grohls daughter, Violet, who stepped onto the stage to perform All Apologies, adding a personal touch to the night.Dawes invites iconic friendsThe band Dawes performed three songs with some icons and an intimate knowledge of what the city has gone through. Brothers Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith both had substantial damage to their homes.The band played their melancholy ode to the city, Time Spent in Los Angeles, with the lyrics, Cause you got that special kind of sadness/You got that tragic set of charms/That only comes from time spent in Los Angeles.They invited Stephen Stills to play a jammy version of Stills For What Its Worth (Stop, Hey Whats That Sound). Then Graham Nash, a longtime musical partner to Stills, was invited to the stage to sing Teach Your Children by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. At the end, Nash let the audience sing the final words.Whenever Los Angeles gets into trouble, the musicians are right there, and Im proud to be one of them, Nash said. A prayer for teachersQuinta Brunson, who plays a teacher on the television show Abbott Elementary, introduced a real teacher and shined the spotlight on the impact the fires had on schools and education. Glendale High School math teacher Aurora Barboza Flores said she lost the Altadena home she had been saving for over 21 years. So now Ive lost more than my home. Ive lost my community, too. I was so proud to be a homeowner, so proud to have a place to call my own in this city, she said.She managed to find one thing in the wreckage: A dish she kept her jewelry in, inscribed with the words I think Ill just be happy today. The crowd in the Intuit Dome cheered. Sometimes, thats all we can do. Even though its hard there are moments that get us through. Moments like tonight, Flores said.Thats right, Brunson added. Everybody, lets thank Aurora and all the teachers out there right now. JONATHAN LANDRUM JR. Landrum is an entertainment reporter based in Los Angeles. He reports on television, film and music for The Associated Press. twitter instagram mailto MARK KENNEDY Kennedy is a theater, TV, music, food and obit writer and editor for The Associated Press, as well as a critic for theater, movies and music. He is based in New York City. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

This May 18, 1969 photo provided by NASA shows Earth from 36,000 nautical miles away as photographed from the Apollo 10 spacecraft during its trans-lunar journey toward the moon. (NASA via AP)2025-01-29T21:37:04Z CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) A newly discovered asteroid has a tiny chance of smacking Earth in 2032, space agency officials said Wednesday. Scientists put the odds of a strike at slightly more than 1%.We are not worried at all, because of this 99 percent chance it will miss, said Paul Chodas, director of NASAs Center for Near Earth Object Studies. But it deserves attention.First spotted last month by a telescope in Chile, the near-Earth asteroid designated 2024 YR4 is estimated to be 130 to 330 feet (40 to 100 meters) across.Scientists are keeping close watch on the space rock, which is currently heading away from Earth. As the asteroids path around the sun becomes better understood, Chodas and others said theres a good chance the risk to Earth could drop to zero.The asteroid will gradually fade from view over the next few months, according to NASA and the European Space Agency. Until then, some of the worlds most powerful telescopes will keep monitoring it to better determine its size and path. Once out of sight, it wont be visible until it passes our way again in 2028. The asteroid came closest to Earth on Christmas Day passing within roughly 500,000 miles (800,000 kilometers) of Earth, about twice the distance of the moon. It was discovered two days later. Chodas said scientists are poring over sky surveys from 2016, when predictions show the asteroid also ventured close. If scientists can find the space rock in images from then, they should be able to determine whether it will hit or miss the planet, he told The Associated Press. If we dont find that detection, the impact probability will just move slowly as we add more observations, he said.Earth gets clobbered by an asteroid this size every few thousand years, according to ESA, with the potential for severe damage. Thats why this one now tops ESAs asteroid risk list. The potential impact would occur on Dec. 22, 2032. Its much too soon to know where it might land if it did hit Earth.The good news, according to NASA, is that for now, no other known large asteroids have an impact probability above 1%.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Sheep graze as students march trough the fields in northern Serbia to protest over the collapse of a concrete canopy that killed 15 people more than two months ago, in Indjija, Serbia, Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Armin Durgut)2025-01-31T11:33:11Z INDJIJA, Serbia (AP) After spending a freezing night out in the open, hundreds of striking students on Friday resumed their 2-day anti-graft protest march from the capital, Belgrade, to the northern city of Novi Sad, where they plan to blockade three bridges over the River Danube this weekend. The bridge blockade is planned for Saturday to mark three months since a huge concrete construction at the railway station collapsed in Novi said on Nov. 1, leaving 15 people dead.What started two months ago as a protest against suspected corruption in construction contracts has developed into the most serious challenge in years to the countrys powerful populist leader, President Aleksandar Vucic.Meanwhile in Belgrade, a driver rammed a car into a silent protest Friday, slightly injuring one woman, the third such incident in weeks.The incident happened in downtown Belgrade during 15 minutes of silence observed daily throughout Serbia at around noon when a canopy collapsed at a railway station in the northern town of Novi Sad on Nov. 1 Video footage showed the woman, wearing a doctors white coat, being thrown to the pavement. Pro-government thugs have repeatedly attacked the protesters, many of them students, twice ramming cars into demonstrations. Two people were seriously injured in the previous attacksAlong the way to Novi Sad on Friday, the students were greeted by cheering citizens, honking their car horns or coming out of their homes with offers of refreshments and food. When they reached the town of Indjija on Thursday, roughly halfway along their 80-kilometer (50-mile) route, they were welcomed with fireworks and cheers from residents.Although most of them spent the night out in the open in a soccer field, the freezing temperatures did not dampen their desire for major changes in the corruption-ridden Balkan state. Nevena Vecerinac, a student, said she hoped the protesters demands that include the punishment of all those responsible for the rail station tragedy will be fulfilled. We will make it to Novi Sad, she said. Yesterdays walk was easy. Its cold now, but we can make it. We all have the same goal.We need support from all people. With this energy and mood I hope we can do it, otherwise there will be no brighter future, said Luka Arsenovic, another student marcher. Many in Serbia believe that the collapse of the overhang at the train station was essentially caused by government corruption in a large infrastructure project with Chinese state companies. Critics believe graft led to a sloppy job during the reconstruction of the Novi Sad train station, poor oversight and disrespect of existing safety regulations. Monthslong demonstrations have already forced the resignation of Serbias prime minister Milos Vucevic this week, along with various concessions from authorities which were ignored by the protesters who say that is not enough.Vucic and other officials have shifted from accusing the students of working with foreign powers to oust him, to offering concessions or issuing veiled threats. The strength and determination of the protesters have caught many by surprise in a country where hundreds of thousands of young people have emigrated, looking for opportunities elsewhere.-Stojanovic contributed from Belgrade, Serbia. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

The FOIA Forum is a livestreamed event for paying subscribers where we talk about how to file public records requests and answer questions. If you're not already signed up, please consider doing sohere.Recently we had a FOIA Forum where we focused on getting information from federal government agencies. With any new administration there is a flurry of activity, and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests are a way to get more information on what is happening inside government.

An activist with a yellow ribbon on her mouth holds a white umbrella during a protest calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, in front of the U.S. Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)2025-01-31T13:53:27Z JERUSALEM (AP) News that three high-profile hostages are expected to be released Saturday, including the father of the youngest captives held in Gaza, brought excitement and trepidation to Israel on Friday.Yarden Bibas father to young Ariel and Kfir Bibas Keith Siegel and Ofer Kalderon have all become household names in Israel since their abduction, with major campaigns calling for their release.The mens release would be the fourth since a ceasefire paused the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas this month. In its first phase, 33 Israeli captives are expected to be freed in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.Israels announcement of the names provided by Hamas dimmed hopes that the Bibas boys and their mother, Shiri, are still alive in captivity. Hamas has said they are dead and Israel says it is gravely concerned about them. Around a third of some 80 people still held hostage in Gaza are believed to be dead. Activists dressed in white and carrying white umbrellas held a silent protest Friday outside the U.S. Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv to call for more releases, with yellow chairs representing the hostages. A group representing the captives families called the news joyous but said Israel had the sacred duty and moral right to bring all the hostages home, dead and alive. To the mens families, the news was a relief. Thank God, Sahar Kalderon, one of Ofer Kalderons children, wrote on Instagram. What a perfect morning. Aviva Siegel, Keith Siegels wife, exclaimed with joy in a video her daughter posted to Instagram. Dad is coming! she cried. Dad is on the list!Around 250 were abducted when Hamas stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Israels ensuing air and ground war has been among the deadliest and most destructive in decades. More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed, over half of them women and children, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were militants.Heres a closer look at the men set to be freed Saturday. Yarden Bibas, 35News that Yarden Bibas would be released dimmed hopes that his wife and children were still alive in Gaza. Hamas has claimed that the three were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Israel has not confirmed that, but spokesperson Daniel Hagari said last week that the military was extremely concerned about the familys welfare. Yarden Bibas was taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7. Photos from the abduction appear to show him wounded.Its believed he was taken captive separately from his wife and sons. A video of the familys abduction showed Shiri swaddling her two redheaded boys in a blanket and being whisked away by armed men.Kfir, who was 9 months old at the time, was the youngest to be taken captive. The infant with a then-toothless smile has come to represent the helplessness and anger over the hostage crisis. Keith Siegel, 65Keith Siegel, from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was abducted with his wife, Aviva Siegel, from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a communal farming village heavily damaged by the attack. She was freed during the November 2023 ceasefire deal, and has campaigned across the world for her husbands release.Keith Siegel worked as an a occupational therapist and loves spending time with his grandchildren, according to the forum representing the hostage families. Aviva Siegel said that she was held hostage with her husband during her 51 days in captivity. She said she took comfort from having her husband by her side as they were moved from tunnel to tunnel, the two given almost no food or water. Her parting words to him were, Be strong for me.Ofer Kalderon, 54Ofer Kalderon, a French-Israeli hostage, was taken captive by the militants from Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with his children, Sahar and Erez. His ex-wife, Hadas, was also abducted.The children and Hadas Kalderon were released during the hostage exchange in November. Hadas Kalderon has said that the children have struggled since leaving captivity, worried for their fathers health.Ofer Kalderon worked as a carpenter and loves biking and flying model planes, according to the hostage forum. JULIA FRANKEL Frankel is an Associated Press reporter in Jerusalem. twitter mailto

Avocados are displayed for sale at a grocery store in Waukegan, Ill., Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)2025-01-31T12:42:08Z WASHINGTON (AP) The 25% tax that President Donald Trump plans to slap on imports from Canada and Mexico as soon as Saturday could drive up the price of everything from gasoline and pickup trucks, to Super Bowl party guacamole dip.The tariffs would also invite retaliation. Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, has already vowed to counterpunch by pulling American alcohol off store shelves in the Canadian province no idle threat; Canada is the worlds No. 2 market for Americas distilled spirits (behind the 27-nation European Union).Trumps tariffs threaten to blow up the trade agreement he himself negotiated with Americas neighbors in his first term. His U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement the fairest, most balanced, and beneficial trade agreement we have ever signed into law, Trump once declared -- was supposed to bring predictability to North American trade, giving businesses the confidence to make investments. But when it comes to the self-proclaimed Tariff Man, Trump and his passion for plastering taxes on foreign goods, nothing is predictable, and nothing is ever really settled. Tariffs at those levels and at that scope would effectively destroy the agreement that Trump himself negotiated and always brags about, said Scott Lincicome, a trade analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute.The president says the 25% levies are designed to pressure Americas two neighbors to do more to stop the flow of undocumented immigrants and fentanyl into the United States. Michael Robinet of S&P Global Mobility and many other analysts suspect the tariff threat is also designed to get Canada and Mexico to go along with Americas demands for changes to the USMCA when it comes up for renewal next year.Robinet, executive director of automotive consulting at S&P Global, said he doubts that Trump will go ahead with 25% across-the-board tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports what he calls a shock-to-the-system approach that would freeze the North American economy in a Tariff Winter. Instead, Robinet said, Trump might postpone or phase in the tariffs or initially exempt some industries to show Canada and Mexico how much worse things could get if he doesnt get his way. Trump pressured Mexico and Canada into agreeing to the USMCA five years ago, partly to narrow the United States big trade deficit the gap between what the U.S. sells and what it buys.It hasnt worked out that way.The U.S. deficit in the trade of goods of Mexico has widened from $106 billion in 2019 to $161 billion in 2023 (the last full year for which numbers are available). That is partly because Mexico has replaced China, locked in an ongoing trade war with the United States, as the source of many U.S. imports furniture, textiles, shoes, laptops, computer servers.The trade gap in goods with Canada has ballooned, too: From $31 billion in 2019 to $72 billion in 2023. The deficit largely reflects Americas imports of Canadian energy.The USMCA has not met the goals that Trump set forth for it. Our trade deficit with Canada and Mexico is bigger than it was, considerably, said Lori Wallach, director of the Rethink Trade program at the American Economic Liberties Project and a longtime critic of Americas free trade pacts. A lot of jobs have been offshored to Mexico since USMCA. When the USMCA comes up for renewal next year, the U.S. is expected to press for rules that would do more to encourage factories to produce in the United States. And it could seek a crackdown on Chinese goods being sent through Mexico to the United States to evade tariffs that Trump and President Joe Biden imposed on Beijing.The United States now does far more business exports and imports alike with both Canada and Mexico than it does with China. In 2023, U.S. trade of both goods and services with Canada and Mexico came to more than $1.8 trillion, compared with $643 billion with China. Because of USMCA and the regional trade deal it replaced in 2020 most products cross the regions borders tariff-free. The threatened 25% tariffs are causing heartburn in corporate boardrooms. If Trump goes ahead with his threat, tariffs would surge from $1.3 billion to $132 billion a year on Mexicos imports to the United States and from $440 million to $107 billion on Canadas, according to the tax and consulting firm PwC.And no one knows if Trump will really pull the trigger or how long the tariffs would stay in place if he does. Its really thrown industry into this turmoil of anxiety, said trade lawyer Chandri Navarro, senior counsel at Baker & McKenzie. What industry likes is certainty. Youre making production decisions, supply chain decisions, purchasing decisions five years out.Trump views tariffs as a fix-it for most of what ails the economy. He says they raise money for cuts in income and corporate taxes, encourage companies to move production to the United States and offer useful leverage in pressuring other countries to make concessions on trade and other issues. Trump administration officials also say critics of potential tariffs shouldnt view them in isolation, arguing that their other policies, including lowering taxes and easing regulations, will strengthen the economy. Companies are scrambling to prepare. Some bought goods and shipped them to the United States ahead of time to beat the tariffs. Others are calculating how much of the cost they can pass along to their customers. Unfortunately, its going to impact a lot of consumers, said Dave Evans, co-founder and CEO of Fictiv, a San Francisco company that helps clients manage their supply chains in plastics and metals. We saw this in his first term. A tariff isnt fully absorbed by the companies.Canada and Mexico are bracing, too. Chrystia Freeland, the former finance minister who represented Canada in USMCA negotiations, has called for retaliation if Trump moves ahead with tariffs. Being smart means retaliating where it hurts, said Freeland, who is running to replace prime minister Justin Trudeau. Our counterpunch must be dollar-for-dollar and it must be precisely and painfully targeted: Florida orange growers, Wisconsin dairy farmers, Michigan dishwasher manufacturers, and much more.Likewise, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum promised in November that for every tariff, there will be a response in kind.____Associated Press Writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed this story.

Washington players stand during the playing of the national anthem wearing warm-up jackets for Black History Month before an NCAA college basketball game against Arizona, Feb. 12, 2022, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer, File)2025-01-31T15:16:02Z WASHINGTON (AP) Beginning Feb. 1, schools, museums and communities across the nation will mark the start of Black History Month - a celebration of Black history, culture and education. The history of the month dates back almost a century, and the way it is celebrated and evolved has created history in itself. The origins of the monthBlack History Month wasnt always a monthlong celebration. In February 1926, historian and author Carter G. Woodson created Negro History Week. It was a weeklong celebration in an effort to teach people about African-American history and the contributions of Black people.This effort was made under the umbrella of an organization he founded in September 1915 called the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, or ASALH. I think Black folks understood what they had contributed to Americas historical narrative, but no one was talking about it, said Kaye Whitehead, the organizations president. No one was centralizing it until Dr. Carter G. Woodson was in 1926. After he passed away in 1950, the members of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, which Dr. Woodson was a member of, did a lot of groundwork to encourage celebrating the week. The fraternity was also responsible for the push to extend the celebrations to a full month. Eventually, in 1976, President Gerald Ford became the first president to issue a message recognizing the month. Since then, presidents have made annual proclamations for National Black History Month, a tradition that President Donald Trump plans to continue, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. AP AUDIO: Black History Month explained: Its origins, celebrations and myths AP correspondent Haya Panjwani reports on Black History Month, in the wake of President Trumps anti-DEI initiatives. Celebrating Black history The Association for the Study of African American Life and History releases a theme for each year, which is a practice Woodson started.This years theme is African Americans and Labor. The organization plans to use the month, and the rest of the year, focusing on the role of Black labor in building the nation through industry or community work. Black history is also celebrated within communities and families. Worth K. Hayes, an associate professor of history and Africana studies at Morehouse College, said some families may use the month to explore their genealogy, learn about their ancestors or come together to eat a meal and make family trees. We may be more familiar with the more public ways, but there are also a lot more intimate ways in which these messages are spread and the way that the holiday is propagated, Hayes said. At some schools, assemblies or gatherings are held to honor Black leaders, according to the nonpartisan organization the Center for Racial Justice in Education.Some schools invite elders to share their wisdom and lived experiences, allowing young people to learn from them, ask questions, and build meaningful connections across generations, the center said in an email to The Associated Press. Additionally, some communities select specific topics or principles for in-depth exploration during the month. Myths about Black History Month Myths around Black History Month continue, Whitehead said, including the idea that the U.S. government purposely chose the shortest month of the year. In reality, Woodson chose February because two prominent figures in the civil rights movement Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass had birthdays in the week he chose. Whitehead also stresses that Black history shouldnt just be taught for the month of February, but rather taught and celebrated for the entire year. Celebrities, including actor Morgan Freeman, have criticized it being just a monthlong celebration. But Hayes argued that the month isnt just about celebrating African-American history, but Black history as a whole. I think that there is this desire to make this point that African-American history or Black history is so integral to the American story, American history, Hayes said. But that reduces Black history to African-American history, and thats not how it is and is celebrated from its origins to this day So if youre talking about Black History Month, youre not only talking about Nat Turner, youre also talking about Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian Revolution. Youre talking about many of the women and men who led the independence movements on the African continent. Whitehead added that Black history is not just for Black people, it is for all people. If youre in an environment and everybody in the environment is white, you need Black History Month more than ever because you need to understand that the world, even though you like to believe it fits into this box, it does not, Whitehead said.Black history doesnt rely on a presidential proclamation, Whitehead and others said. Whitehead said Black people dont need permission to mark the month. It doesnt happen because were waiting for a statement to be released. We proclaim it, We celebrate it, we uplift, we center it and we help people to understand that this is our history, she said. Black History Month in 2025At least one government agency has paused celebrations of cultural or historic events, including Black History Month. But at the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the decisions of the new Trump administration around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives will not affect how Black History Month is celebrated. Negro History Week started in 1926 without any proclamation from anyone other than the people, said ASALH executive director Sylvia Cyrus. The president of the United States has his views, and certainly we assume that he understands the contributions that African Americans and other people of color have made.A White House spokesperson has said that they intend to celebrate the month. Some believe how Black history is taught could be affected by the new administrations outlook on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs. The Center for Racial Justice in Education said educators may be more encouraged to teach Black history in their classrooms throughout the year. Resistance takes many inspiring forms, and those dedicated to celebrating this essential history are employing creative and strategic approaches to share and further develop it, the organization said in an email. Hayes agreed and said it could encourage others to teach communities about the contributions of Black people.African Americans, Black folks throughout the world, just like all cultures throughout the world, have taken ownership of their history, he said. And these various political developments may shape the contours of it. But this story is going to be told regardless of the political dynamics of the particular time.

A woman holds up a dosage of Wegovy, a drug used for weight loss, at her home in Front Royal, Va., on March 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)2025-01-31T14:09:05Z More U.S. adults believe it is a good thing than a bad thing for adults to use weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and other brands if they are struggling with obesity or have a health condition tied to weight, but they are not broadly supportive of teens who have obesity using the medications, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. When it comes to ages 12 to 18 who are dealing with obesity, Americans are divided: About one-third say the use of weight-loss drugs in this context is a very or somewhat good thing, a similar share say its a bad thing and about 3 in 10 say it isnt good or bad. For adults, about half think its a good thing, and about 2 in 10 think its a bad thing. The popular weight-loss drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, which were originally meant to treat diabetes, surged in popularity after the Food and Drug Administration approved them for weight loss in 2021. Now, theyre all over the place celebrities, TV advertisements, social media, news media, your neighbor. Doctors and researchers say the injectable drugs are a effective tools when it comes to treating obesity. The American Medical Association has urged health insurance companies to cover the drugs, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has said that doctors should consider giving the medications to kids 12 and older who are struggling with obesity. The AP-NORC poll results indicate that even as doctors urge the drugs use, some Americans continue to have concerns about weight-loss drugs, particularly for teens and people who arent struggling with obesity. Using obesity drugsAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 100 million adults in the U.S. are obese defined as having a body mass index of 30 or higher and more than 22 million adults are severely obese, with a BMI of 40 or higher.Obesity is classified as a chronic disease that needs medical attention, because it can result from genetics, environmental factors and socioeconomic factors. Patients who use the drugs as an extra boost to lose weight can face criticism that theyre somehow cheating, said Dr. Cate Varney, who treats patients with obesity at UVA Health in Charlottesville, Virginia.Its like telling somebody to nail a nail into a board and then giving one person a hammer and another person, you know, like a chopstick, Varney said, adding, were leveling the playing field with these medications.Anjanette Ewen lost 67 pounds on Mounjaro, and credits that weight loss as the reason she found a cancerous lump on her breast. The 50-year-old from Fort Walton Beach, Florida, who responded to the AP-NORC poll, said she had struggled to lose weight for years because of complications with polycystic ovarian syndrome. Because of PCOS, which has a common symptom of sudden weight fluctuations, Ewen went from 150 pounds to 220 pounds in eight months. Ive been on a weight loss journey for forever, it seems like, and nothing was working, she said. About 20% of children in the U.S. have obesity, according to CDC data. Dr. Gitanjali Srivastava, the medical director of obesity medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said obesity is easier to treat in children than in adults. The youth actually respond beautifully to these medications, she said, adding that obesity at a young age increases the chance of having even severe and more profound obesity as an adult ... to the point that you will actually have to have medications and or bariatric surgery as an adult.Insurance coverage is an issueWithout insurance, out-of-pocket costs for the drugs can run hundreds of dollars each time you fill a prescription.The AP-NORC poll shows about half of Americans strongly or somewhat favor having the federal programs Medicare and Medicaid cover weight-loss drugs for people who have obesity, while about 2 in 10 are opposed the idea and about one-quarter have a neutral view. So far, Medicare, the health insurance program for 66 million Americans 65 and older, doesnt cover the drugs for obesity. Coverage varies under Medicaid, which provides health insurance for low-income Americans. Some large companies with 500 employees or more and some Medicaid programs are adding coverage. But many other employers and health insurers are scaling back, with some citing treatment costs. Using GLP-1s if youre not obeseYou cant get weight-loss drugs without a prescription, though there are off-market compounds that people can purchase. The AP-NORC poll showed that about 6 in 10 Americans believe it is a very or somewhat bad thing for adults to take GLP-1s for weight loss if theyre not obese, and that increases to about 7 in 10 for teens in the same situation.Younger adults, though, are a little more open to the use of GLP-1s for teens who arent dealing with obesity. About 8 in 10 Americans above the age of 45 believe its a bad idea for teenagers who want to lose weight by using the drugs but arent obese, but about two-thirds of American adults under the age of 45 hold the same opinion. ___AP Health Writer Tom Murphy in Indianapolis contributed to this report. Hunter reported from Atlanta. Sanders reported from Washington.___The AP-NORC poll of 1,147 adults was conducted Jan. 9-13, using a sample drawn from NORCs probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. KENYA HUNTER Hunter is an Atlanta-based public health reporter for The Associated Press, covering disabilities and sexual health. mailto LINLEY SANDERS Sanders is a polls and surveys reporter for The Associated Press. She develops and writes about polls conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, and works on AP VoteCast. twitter RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

A group of men who sold Anom devices, the encrypted phone secretly backdoored by the FBI which led to the largest sting operation in history, pleaded guilty this month in San Diego. The defendants had been set to go to trial, in which the government was preparing to reveal the real identity of the confidential human source who provided the FBI with the Anom company in the first place. Now, that trial most likely wont happen.The court records released as part of the plea deals also provide new insight into how some of the phone sellers discussed drug trafficking on their Anom devices as well.If you really want to be secure there is only one word. ANOM, one of the defendants wrote in messages collected from a backdoored phone.In 2018, the FBI shut down an encrypted phone company called Phantom Secure. Companies in this underground industry typically take ordinary mobile handsets, then load them with custom encrypted messaging software and sometimes make modifications to the hardware too, such as removing the microphone or camera. Their customer bases are often disproportionately serious organized criminals, including drug traffickers, hitmen, and money launderers.After shuttering Phantom Secure, a seller of the devices who used the moniker Afgoo approached the FBI with a staggering proposition: would the agency like to take the new encrypted phone company they had started, called Anom, and run it themselves? This meant the FBI could secretly backdoor Anoms phones, and if criminals started using them, read all of their messages.That would only work if criminals bought the phones, and if people in the encrypted phone industry sold them. Thats where the defendants Aurangzeb Ayub, Shane Ngakuru, Seyyed Hossein Hosseini, and Alexander Dmintrienko. Prosecutors allege they became part of Anom and sold Anom devices to criminals around the world.Do you know anything else about Anom or encrypted phones? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at +44 20 8133 5190. Otherwise, send me an email at joseph@404media.co.Anom became a popular tool for serious criminals in Australia, Europe, South America, and South East Asia. Customers used the phones to coordinate massive, multi-ton shipments of drugs. In June 2021, authorities launched a global relay race of raids, with more than nine thousand law enforcement officials acting across a single day.In a twist, even though the FBI secretly managed the Anom company, deciding which features should be included and those which shouldnt, authorities also decided to charge what they saw as some of Anoms most significant sellers. That indictment named seventeen people, including Hakan Ayik, who was Australias most wanted man and a key reason why Anom went global. Associates called him the encryption king.The new plea agreements point to the defendants communications with criminal users of the phones. Defendant assured his criminal customers that Anom would be safe from law enforcement and that Anom was more secure than other hardened encrypted device companies that had recently been infiltrated by law enforcement, Ayubs plea agreement reads.Buy DARK WIRE anywhere books are sold, including Barnes & Noble and Hachette.In March 2021, authorities shut down Sky, one of the largest encrypted phone companies. Ayub then told Anom higher ups he was ready to sell 100 Anom devices and another 600 devices down the line, the record adds. Defendant recognized that the criminal market for hardened encrypted device brands were overlapping and that the fall of a competitor provider presented opportunities for the growth of the Anom Enterprise, it reads.Hosseinis agreement mentions a conversation where some of the men discussed keeping Anom underground. Remeber. Word of mouth only. No social media nothing We dont exist xx, one called Edwin Harmendra Kumar wrote (Kumar previously pleaded guilty). Yes we dont advertize [sic], Dmitrienko added. Hosseini then wrote This one of the policies of ANOM no advertising!! I know you guys are aware of it.. Just a minder . The irony, of course, was that all of these messages were being collected and then read by the FBI.Some of the phone sellers also discussed drug sales in their messages, according to the plea agreements. Ngakuru coordinated a shipment of methamphetamine to New Zealand; Ayub spoke about the sale of kilograms of cocaine; and Hosseini discussed cocaine trafficking, according to the documents. Those three men have entered their pleas, but Dmintrienkos hearing has been delayed to February, according to the court docket. Hosseinis plea agreement mentions Dmintrienko in the cocaine discussion.The guilty pleas close those cases, but some of the people charged by the U.S. remain overseas, including encryption king Ayik and Maximilian Rivkin, a Serbia-born drug trafficker who was also crucial to Anoms aggressive expansion.

In this Oct. 15, 2020, file photo Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos speaks at the Phoenix International Academy in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)2025-01-31T16:44:25Z WASHINGTON (AP) Schools and universities responding to complaints of sexual misconduct must return to policies created during President Donald Trumps first term, with requirements for live hearings and more protections for accused students, according to new guidance issued Friday by the Education Department.In a memo to education institutions across the nation, the agency clarified that Title IX, a 1972 law barring discrimination based on sex, will be enforced according to a set of rules created by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. The rules govern how complaints of misconduct are investigated and how to settle cases where students present differing accounts.Colleges already have been returning to DeVos 2020 rules in recent weeks since a federal judge in Kentucky overturned the Biden administrations Title IX rules. The courts decision effectively ordered a return to the earlier Trump administration rules. A statement from the Education Department called Bidens rules an egregious slight to women and girls.Under the Trump Administration, the Education Department will champion equal opportunity for all Americans, including women and girls, by protecting their right to safe and separate facilities and activities in schools, colleges and universities, said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor. The Biden administration sought to overhaul the rules and expand Title IX to protect LGBTQ+ students. It expanded the type of behavior thats considered sexual harassment a reversal of the DeVos policy, which used a narrower definition. But a federal judge in Kentucky overturned Bidens rule on Jan. 9, saying it was a presidential overstep and violated constitutional free speech rights by telling schools to honor students preferred pronouns. The judge, U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves, said there was nothing in Title IX suggesting it should cover anything more than it did when Congress created it. Even before the decision, Bidens rule had been halted in half the states amid legal challenges from Republicans.The full text of the Title IX law is just 37 words long, but the federal government has added rules over the years explaining how its interpreted. DeVos policy adds 500 pages detailing how schools must address complaints and how the Education Department makes sure schools comply.Already, the Trump administration has taken a hard turn on its enforcement of Title IX: On Tuesday the Education Department said it opened an investigation into Denver schools after the district converted a girls restroom into an all-gender restroom while leaving another bathroom exclusive to boys.The new memo says even investigations that started when Bidens rules were in effect should be immediately reoriented to comport fully with the requirements of the 2020 Title IX Rule.DeVos rules were welcomed by advocates who said colleges had become too quick to punish students accused of sexual misconduct without a fair trial. But the rules were condemned by victims rights groups who said they retraumatized victims and would deter many from reporting assaults. Among the most controversial changes was a rule requiring colleges to hold live hearings where accused students could cross-examine their accusers through an adviser. The Biden rule eliminated the requirement and made live hearings optional, though some courts had previously upheld an accused students right to cross examination.More broadly, the 2020 policy narrowed the definition of sexual harassment and the scope of cases that schools must address. It also reduced the liability for colleges, holding them responsible only if they acted with deliberate indifference.Trumps new pick for education secretary is Linda McMahon, a longtime Trump ally known for building the World Wrestling Entertainment professional wrestling empire with her husband, Vince McMahon. Her Senate confirmation hearing has yet to be scheduled.___The Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. COLLIN BINKLEY Binkley covers the U.S. Education Department and federal education policy for The Associated Press, along with a wide range of issues from K-12 through higher education. twitter mailto

U.S. Army soldiers stand outside their armored vehicle on a joint base with the Iraqi army, south of Mosul, Iraq, Feb. 23, 2017. (AP Photo/ Khalid Mohammed, File)2025-01-31T15:57:57Z BAGHDAD (AP) The fall of Bashar Assad in Syria has led Iran-allied factions in neighboring Iraq to reconsider their push for U.S. forces to exit the country, multiple Iraqi and American officials told The Associated Press.The U.S. and Iraq announced an agreement last year to wind down the military mission in Iraq of an American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group by September 2025, with U.S. forces departing some bases where they have stationed troops during a two-decade-long military presence in the country.Political and armed factions linked to Iran had been among the loudest voices calling for a U.S. exit from Iraq particularly after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack in southern Israel and Israels ensuing bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza. In Iraq, as in much of the Arab world, U.S. backing for Israel in a war that killed tens of thousands of civilians and displaced nearly Gazas entire population of 2.3 million was unpopular. When the agreement was reached to end the coalitions mission in Iraq, Iraqi political leaders said the threat of IS was under control and they no longer needed Washingtons help to beat back the remaining cells. But the fall of Assad in a lightning offensive led by Sunni Islamist rebels in December led some to reassess that stance, including members of the Coordination Framework, a coalition of mainly Shiite, Iran-allied political parties that brought current Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani to power in late 2022. The fall of Assad an ally of Iran weakened Tehrans hand in the region, leaving allied groups in Iraq feeling vulnerable. Many in Iraq also fear that IS could take advantage of the security vacuum to stage a comeback while Syrias new leaders are still consolidating their control over the country and forming a national army. Most leaders of the Shiite Coordination Framework are in favor of keeping American forces in Iraq and will not want American forces to leave Iraq as a result of what happened in Syria, said one official with the group. They are afraid of ISIS exploiting the vacuum if the Americans leave Iraq and the situation in Iraq collapses. Multiple other Iraqi political and security officials gave similar assessments. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.A high-ranking official in Iraqs National Security Service said that in a meeting with the Iraqi government, his agency had made the argument that it is not in Iraqs interest to request the withdrawal of the US and the international coalition from Iraq at the present time.The loud voices that were previously talking about the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq have decreased significantly, he said. I expect that there will be no withdrawal this year by the Americans.A senior U.S. defense official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said that since the fall of Assad in Syria, Iraqi government officials have asked informally at the highest of levels to delay the end of the mission in Iraq of an American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group and the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. He said the Iraqis were anxious that IS could take advantage of the chaos following Assads ouster and of large stockpiles of weapons abandoned by the former Syrian army to stage a comeback, which he described as a valid concern.ISIS is not imminently going to make a resurgence, but it certainly could, he said, using an alternative name for IS. The Iraqi government has not made any public statement about the possibility of extending the coalitions mandate. Iraqi government spokesperson Bassim al-Awadi said Friday that the time frames between Iraq and the international coalition have not changed and that meetings between Iraq and coalition officials are ongoing.While Iraqi would likely need to make a formal written request to extend the withdrawal timeline, al-Sudani might be reluctant to make the request publicly out of fear of being portrayed by domestic rivals as backing down after he had previously called for a U.S. exit. The Iraqi government has attempted to maintain a delicate balance between its ties to Iran and to the United States. Iraqi armed groups have also had a complicated relationship with U.S. forces, with the same groups sometimes attacking them and on other occasions becoming allies of convenience in a fight against a common enemy.The Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of primarily Shiite, Iran-backed armed groups, fought against the Islamic State group beginning in 2014, when IS militants rampaged across the country, seizing large swathes of territory. Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow at the Chatham House think tank in London, said that while there wasnt active coordination between the U.S. forces and PMF at the time they were fighting the same war on the same side against the same enemy. During the war in Gaza, some of the groups that make up the PMF launched drone attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria. They have not launched any attacks since the fall of Assad.Mansour said that much of the anxiety in Iraq about the post-Assad future of Syria stems from Iraqs own history. Many of the countrys current leaders remember the chaotic years following the fall of Iraqs former strongman leader, Saddam Hussein, in a U.S.-led invasion in 2003.If the argument for removing the U.S. troops from Iraq was that the fight against ISIS was over and the region is stable, that calculation has changed following regime change in Syria, he said. The threat of Daesh (the Arabic acronym for IS) in the context of an unstable and precarious Syria for the next few years is very real for the Coordination Framework and the government in Iraq.-Sewell reported from Beirut. ABBY SEWELL Sewell is the Associated Press news director for Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. She joined the AP in 2022 but has been based in the region since 2016, reporting and guiding coverage on some of its most significant news stories. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss AI's boom or bust, trying Github's Copilot, and making time for good ideas.JASON:When we started 404 Media, I bought a macro lens for my camera and used it to take pictures of leaked documents, things we had FOIAed, things like that. Sometimes I printed out the documents and took pictures of them, other times I took pictures of my computer screen. The thinking was that it was a cooler visual style than just screenshotting them, which obviously takes half a second. It wasnt a policy or anything, but I took pics for the first few weeks, and they did look cool. I only have one camera, and I mainly use it as a webcam for our podcast. So it was definitely a pain in the ass to take it off a tripod, change the lens, take the photos, put them on my computer, and so on. So after a few weeks, I stopped doing it, and now we use screenshots like everyone else on the entire internet.

A boat passes by July 2, 2024, off Sea Girt, N.J., where a power cable from the Atlantic Shores offshore wind farm project is projected to come ashore. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry, File)2025-01-31T16:53:50Z In the first serious fallout from President Donald Trumps early actions against offshore wind power, oil and gas giant Shell is walking away from a major project off the coast of New Jersey.Shell told The Associated Press it is writing off the project, citing increased competition, delays and a changing market. Naturally we also take regulatory context into consideration, spokesperson Natalie Gunnell said in an email.Shell co-owns the large Atlantic Shores project, which has most of its permits and would generate enough power for 1 million homes if both of two phases were completed. Thats enough for one-third of New Jersey households.Its unclear whether Shells decision kills the project partner EDF-RE Offshore Development says it remains committed to Atlantic Shores.On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order singling out offshore wind for contempt with a temporary halt on all lease sales in federal waters and a pause on approvals, permits and loans. Perhaps most of interest to Shell, the order directs administration officials to review existing offshore wind energy leases and identify any legal reasons to terminate them. Large offshore wind farms have been making electricity for three decades in Europe, and more recently in Asia. They are considered by experts to be an essential part of addressing climate change because they can take the place of fossil fuel plants, if paired with battery storage. New Jersey has set a goal of generating 100% of its energy from clean sources by 2035. The Biden administration approved plans to build the Atlantic Shores project in two phases in October, but construction has not begun. Oliver Metcalfe, head of wind research at BloombergNEF, said the partners are facing significant uncertainty about their lease, and other developers are watching what happens with Atlantic Shores closely. Were in uncertain territory here, he added. Offshore wind foes, who are particularly vocal and well-organized in New Jersey, celebrated Shells withdrawal. Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew, of New Jersey, helped the Trump team draft the executive order. He said Shells decision is a big win for New Jerseys coastline and economy but this fight is not over. Robin Shaffer, president of Protect Our Coast NJ, said that without Shells financial backing, it appears the project is dead in the water. Shell is writing off a nearly $1 billion investment. It announced its decision on Thursday, as it reported a 16% decline in full-year earnings of $23.7 billion from $28.3 billion. Most of its business is oil and gas.Danish wind developer Orsted was close to beginning work on two offshore wind farms in New Jersey but scrapped the project in Oct. 2023 after deciding it would not be economical.A lot of clean energy is cheap now, but offshore wind is still among the most expensive. That can make these projects less attractive to investors, absent strong policy support, said Coco Zhang, vice president for environmental, social and governance research at ING. The potential uncertainty that the executive order has brought to the market, it cannot be ignored, she said. The Biden administration sought to ramp up offshore wind as a climate change solution, setting national goals to deploy offshore wind energy, holding lease sales and approving nearly a dozen commercial-scale offshore wind energy projects. ___The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. JENNIFER McDERMOTT McDermott is a reporter on the Associated Press Climate and Environment team. She focuses on the transition to clean energy. twitter mailto

Shoppers pass by a dining room set on display in a Costco warehouse Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Sheridan, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)2025-01-31T13:37:20Z WASHINGTON (AP) An inflation gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve rose slightly last month, while some underlying prices pressures showed signs of easing. The latest inflation figures arrive as President Donald Trump has threatened to impose big import taxes on goods from Canada and Mexico, potentially affecting everything from autos to avocados, which could push prices higher in the coming months. Fridays report from the Commerce Department showed that consumer prices rose 2.6% in December from a year earlier, up from a 2.4% annual pace in November and the third straight increase. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices increased 2.8% compared with a year ago, the same as in November and October.There were some positive signs in Wednesdays report, however. When measured in shorter time frames, inflation is slowing: In December, core prices ticked up 0.2% from the previous month, a pace that is nearly consistent with the Feds annual target. Economists and Fed officials pay close attention to core prices because they provide a better read on where inflation is headed. The figures arrive just two days after Federal Reserve officials, led by Chair Jerome Powell, decided to pause their interest rate cuts in part because inflation has largely been stuck at about 2.5%, above their 2% target, for the past six months. In the past three months, core prices have risen at an annual rate of just 2.2%, down from 2.6% in November. Many businesses raise prices at the start of the year, which could push up inflation a bit when Januarys figures are released next month. But the Feds preferred gauge should decline steadily in the next few months, economists say, as higher inflation readings early last year fall out of the year-over-year figures. Beyond that, however, the growing risk that Trump will impose tariffs a little earlier than we are assuming presents an upside risk to inflation, Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics, a forecasting firm, said in a written note. Overall inflation climbed 0.3% in December from the previous month, driven higher by a jump in gas prices. Monthly increases at that level, if they continued, would exceed the Feds target. The Commerce Departments report also showed consumer spending rose a healthy 0.7% in December from the previous month, fueled in part by steady wage gains and higher stock prices and home values. Incomes rose 0.4%, the government said. With spending outpacing incomes, the savings rate fell to 3.8% from 4.1%. Americans specifically ramped up spending on goods, such as electronics and furniture, likely a sign that consumers are buying more manufactured products, many of which are imported, before the potential imposition of tariffs that Trump has threatened to implement. Underlying trends point to lower inflation ahead. Apartment rental prices and other housing costs are slowly moderating. And a sluggish labor market has meant wage growth has slipped, which means companies are under less pressure to raise prices to offset higher labor costs. We seem to be set up for further progress, Powell said Wednesday at a news conference, referring to inflation. But being seem to set up for it is one thing, having it is another. So were going to want to see further progress on inflation.Until then, Powell suggested, the Fed is likely to keep its key rate at about 4.3%, down a full percentage point from a two-decade peak last year before three cuts at the end of 2024. The Fed expects higher borrowing costs will weigh on spending and bring inflation down further. Consumers, meanwhile, powered strong growth in the final three months of last year, when the economy expanded at a solid 2.3% annual rate. Growth was stronger in the July-September quarter, at 3.1%, but the fourth-quarter expansion was held back by a sharp reduction in business inventories, which should reverse in coming quarters. CHRISTOPHER RUGABER Rugaber has covered the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy for the AP for 16 years. He is a two-time finalist for the Gerald Loeb award for business reporting. twitter mailto

Then former President Donald Trump speaks next to Richard Grenell during a presidential election campaign event at a farm in Smithton, Pa., Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)2025-01-31T16:18:00Z CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) A senior Trump administration official has traveled to Venezuela to urge President Nicols Maduros government to take back deported migrants whove committed crimes in the U.S. and release a handful of imprisoned Americans, a U.S. official said Friday.The visit by Richard Grenell, who U.S. President Donald Trump appointed as an envoy for special missions, may come as a surprise to some Venezuelans who hoped that Trump would continue the maximum pressure campaign he pursued against the authoritarian Venezuelan leader during his first term.Mauricio Claver-Carone, Trumps special envoy to Latin America, confirmed Grenells visit to Caracas in a conference call with journalists on Friday. He said Grenell, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence during Trumps first term, was in Venezuela on a very specific mission that in no way detracts from the Trump administrations goal of restoring democracy in the South American nation. I would urge the Maduro government, the Maduro regime in Venezuela, to heed special envoy Ric Grenells message, said Claver-Carone, himself a former top national security aide to Trump during his first administration. Ultimately there will be consequences otherwise. The visit comes less than a month after Maduro was sworn in for a third six-year term despite credible evidence that he lost last years election by a more than 2-to-1 margin. The U.S. government, along with several other Western nations, does not recognize Maduros claim to victory. Electoral authorities loyal to the ruling party declared Maduro the winner of the July election hours after polls closed without providing detailed vote counts, unlike in previous elections. Meanwhile, the countrys main opposition coalition collected tally sheets from 85% of electronic voting machines showing that its candidate, Edmundo Gonzlez, won by a more than a two-to-one margin. Spokespeople for Gonzlez and his campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Grenells visit.The dispute over the election results sparked nationwide protests. More than 2,200 people were arrested during and after the demonstrations.Among those detained are as many as 10 Americans who the government has linked to alleged plots to destabilize the country. One of them is a Navy SEAL. None of the Americans has been declared wrongfully detained by the State Department, a designation that would give their cases more attention.The Trump administration has taken a slew of actions to make good on promises to crack down on illegal immigration and carry out the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history. Those measures include the revocation earlier this week of a Biden administration decision that would have protected roughly 600,000 people from Venezuela from deportation, putting some at risk of being removed from the country in about two months.More than 7.7 million Venezuelans have left their home country since 2013, when its economy unraveled and Maduro first took office. Most settled in Latin America and the Caribbean, but after the pandemic, migrants increasingly set their sights on the U.S. Venezuelans desire for better living conditions and their rejection of Maduro and his policies are expected to keep pushing people to emigrate.Ahead of the presidential election last year, a nationwide poll by Venezuela-based research firm Delphos showed about a quarter of the population thinking about emigrating if Maduro was re-elected.Grenell has reached out to Maduro before on Trumps behalf to secure the release of imprisoned Americans only to come home empty handed.In 2020, he traveled with Erik Prince, the founder of controversial security firm Blackwater, to Mexico City for a secret meeting with a top Maduro aide. The backchannel talks centered on Maduros offer to swap eight Americans then imprisoned in Venezuela for businessman Alex Saab, a close ally of the president charged in the U.S. with money laundering, The Associated Press previously reported. No deal was struck and Grenells demand that Maduro step down was laughed off by the Venezuelan presidents envoy. Grenell has always denied he was negotiating a hostage swap.Later, in December 2023, the Biden administration exchanged Saab for 10 Americans as part of a policy to re-engage Maduro ahead of presidential elections.___Goodman reported from Miami.____Follow APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america JOSHUA GOODMAN Goodman is a Miami-based investigative reporter who writes about the intersection of crime, corruption, drug trafficking and politics in Latin America. He previously spent two decades reporting from South America. twitter mailto

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James reacts after dunking against the Washington Wizards during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jess Rapfogel)2025-01-31T17:29:08Z The NBA All-Stars have been selected. Next up: Assigning them to teams.The 10 players designated as starters were announced on Jan. 23, the remaining 14 players designated as reserves were revealed Thursday and now, those 24 players will be drafted onto eight-player teams for the games that will be played on Feb. 16 in San Francisco.TNT analysts and basketball greats Shaquille ONeal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith will draft the teams on Feb. 6. The eight-player teams will bear their names Team Shaq, Team Charles and Team Kenny.Theyll pick from this pool of players: LeBron James and Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Darius Garland of the Cleveland Cavaliers Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves James Harden of the Los Angeles Clippers Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors Pascal Siakam of the Indiana Pacers Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat Alperen Sengun of the Houston Rockets Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Memphis Grizzlies Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs How the tournament worksThe games will be fast. Games are to 40 points; first one to reach that total wins. The two semifinal winners will meet in the All-Star final, that game also goes only to 40 points.Voting formatThere was a weighted formula to pick the 10 players designated as starters. It was 50% fan vote, 25% media panel vote, 25% current player vote. NBA head coaches picked the 14 players designated as reserves.But the starter and reserve columns wont mean much on game night, since there will be 15 different players starting five from each of the three teams and only nine players coming off the bench in those semifinal games. How the tournament worksThe Rising Stars event winner that tournament will be held Feb. 14, another four-team event made up of first- and second-year players will be the fourth team in the All-Star games on Feb. 16. That team will be called Team Candace, for Candace Parker.Why the changeNBA Commissioner Adam Silver has wanted a more competitive All-Star event for some time, and this change comes after the teams combined to score a record 397 points 211-186 was the final in last seasons game at Indianapolis.The teams combined to take 289 shot attempts in last years game, 94% of those being either inside the paint or beyond the 3-point line.Coaching staffsKenny Atkinson of the Cleveland Cavaliers will coach one All-Star team, Mark Daigneault of the Oklahoma City Thunder will coach another, and two of their assistants one from each team will have the other teams under their direction.Cleveland and Oklahoma City are sending their staffs to the game because those are the teams with the best records in the Eastern and Western Conferences. Prize moneyThere is a prize pool of $1.8 million for the All-Star Game.Each player on the All-Star champion team gets $125,000, each player on the runner-up team will get $50,000 and the players on the teams eliminated in the semifinals will each get $25,000.___AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba TIM REYNOLDS Reynolds is an Associated Press sports writer, based in South Florida. twitter mailto

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators examine cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder recovered from the American Airlines passenger jet that crashed with an Army helicopter Wednesday night near Washington, D.C, Thursday, Jan.30, 2024. (NTSB via AP)2025-01-31T19:11:32Z Its one of the most important pieces of forensic evidence following a plane crash: The so-called black box. There are actually two of these remarkably sturdy devices: the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder. And theyre typically orange, not black. Federal investigators on Friday recovered the black boxes from the passenger jet that crashed in the Potomac River just outside Washington on Wednesday, while authorities were still searching for similar devices in the military helicopter that also went down. The collision killed 67 people in the deadliest U.S. aviation disaster since 2001. Here is an explanation of what black boxes are and what they can do: What are black boxes? The cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder are tools that help investigators reconstruct the events that lead up to a plane crash. Theyre orange in color to make them easier to find in wreckage, sometimes at great ocean depths. Theyre usually installed a planes tail section, which is considered the most survivable part of the aircraft, according to the National Transportation Safety Boards website. Theyre also equipped with beacons that activate when immersed in water and can transmit from depths of 14,000 feet (4,267 meters). While the battery that powers the beacon will run down after about one month, theres no definitive shelf-life for the data itself, NTSB investigators told The Associated Press in 2014. For example, black boxes of an Air France flight that crashed in the Atlantic Ocean in 2009 were found two years later from a depth of more than 10,000 feet, and technicians were able to recover most of the information. If a black box has been submerged in seawater, technicians will keep them submerged in fresh water to wash away the corrosive salt. If water seeps in, the devices must be carefully dried for hours or even days using a vacuum oven to prevent memory chips from cracking. The electronics and memory are checked, and any necessary repairs made. Chips are scrutinized under a microscope. What does the cockpit voice recorder do? The cockpit voice recorder collects radio transmissions and sounds such as the pilots voices and engine noises, according to the NTSBs website. Depending on what happened, investigators may pay close attention to the engine noise, stall warnings and other clicks and pops, the NTSB said. And from those sounds, investigators can often determine engine speed and the failure of some systems. Investigators are also listening to conversations between the pilots and crew and communications with air traffic control. Experts make a meticulous transcript of the voice recording, which can take up to a week. What does the flight data recorder do? The flight data recorder monitors a planes altitude, airspeed and heading, according to the NTSB. Those factors are among at least 88 parameters that newly built planes must monitor. Some can collect the status of more than 1,000 other characteristics, from a wings flap position to the smoke alarms. The NTSB said it can generate a computer animated video reconstruction of the flight from the information collected. NTBS investigators told the AP in 2014 that a flight data recorder carries 25 hours of information, including prior flights within that time span, which can sometimes provide hints about the cause of a mechanical failure on a later flight. An initial assessment of the data is provided to investigators within 24 hours, but analysis will continue for weeks more.What are the origins of the black box? At least two people have been credited with creating devices that record what happens on an airplane. One is French aviation engineer Franois Hussenot. In the 1930s, he found a way to record a planes speed, altitude and other parameters onto photographic film, according to the website for European plane-maker Airbus. In the 1950s, Australian scientist David Warren came up with the idea for the cockpit voice recorder, according to his 2010 AP obituary.Warren had been investigating the crash of the worlds first commercial jet airliner, the Comet, in 1953, and thought it would be helpful for airline accident investigators to have a recording of voices in the cockpit, the Australian Department of Defence said in a statement after his death. Warren designed and constructed a prototype in 1956. But it took several years before officials understood just how valuable the device could be and began installing them in commercial airlines worldwide. Warrens father had been killed in a plane crash in Australia in 1934. Why the name black box?Some have suggested that it stems from Hussenots device because it used film and ran continuously in a light-tight box, hence the name black box, according to Airbus, which noted that orange was the boxs chosen color from the beginning to make it easy to find. Other theories include the boxes turning black when they get charred in a crash, the Smithsonian Magazine wrote in 2019. The truth is much more mundane, the magazine wrote. In the post-World War II field of electronic circuitry, black box became the ubiquitous term for a self-contained electronic device whose input and output were more defining than its internal operations. The media continues to use the term, the magazine wrote, because of the sense of mystery it conveys in the aftermath of an air disaster. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Israeli captive Arbel Yehoud, 29, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters as she is handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)2025-01-31T18:37:04Z JERUSALEM (AP) It was a day of wrenching emotions: Relief, joy, anger and trauma all spilled out as Hamas released a new round of hostages and Israel freed more Palestinians from its prisons.In the latest in the series of exchanges under the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal Thursday, three Israeli hostages, five Thai workers who had also been held captive by militants in Gaza and 110 Palestinians were freed. Red Cross vehicles, left, wait for the hand-over of Israeli soldier hostage Agam Berger at the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza City, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Mohammad Abu Samra) Red Cross vehicles, left, wait for the hand-over of Israeli soldier hostage Agam Berger at the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza City, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Mohammad Abu Samra) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Freed hostage Shani Goren, right, and friends of Israeli hostage Arbel Yehoud react as they watch the broadcast of her being released from Hamas captivity, in Carmei Gat, southern Israel, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) Freed hostage Shani Goren, right, and friends of Israeli hostage Arbel Yehoud react as they watch the broadcast of her being released from Hamas captivity, in Carmei Gat, southern Israel, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Israeli captive Arbel Yehoud, 29, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters as she is handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Israeli captive Arbel Yehoud, 29, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters as she is handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Friends of Arbel Yehoud gripped each others hands, tears in their eyes, as they gathered at a home in southern Israel to watch on TV as the 29-year-old emerged surrounded by masked Hamas fighters with their green headbands and automatic rifles.After more than 470 days of captivity, Yehoud looked stunned, surrounded by a giant crowd of Palestinians in the ruins of the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis gathered to witness her handover. The fighters marched her through the crowd to vehicles of the Red Cross. The scenes were similar as militants freed Gadi Moses, an 80-year-old man, and female soldier Agam Berger, 20. Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters contain the crowd as cars carrying Israeli Gadi Mozes and Arbel Yahoud, who have been held hostages by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, are escorted to be handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters contain the crowd as cars carrying Israeli Gadi Mozes and Arbel Yahoud, who have been held hostages by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, are escorted to be handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Since the ceasefire began, Hamas has turned each round of hostage releases into a combination of spectacle and ceremony with large crowds, flags and stages. For the militants, its a chance to show off their survival as a fighting force to Israelis and Palestinians alike, as well as to highlight the devastation wreaked by Israel in Gaza during its 15-month campaign of retaliation over the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks in which the hostages were snatched. But the images of hostages being led through the crowds have unnerved and angered Israelis. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the shocking scenes and called on international mediators to ensure the safety of hostages in future releases a commitment he said he later received. People surround the cars carrying Israeli Gadi Mozes and Arbel Yahoud, who have been held hostages by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, as they are escorted by Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters as they are handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) People surround the cars carrying Israeli Gadi Mozes and Arbel Yahoud, who have been held hostages by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, as they are escorted by Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters as they are handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Israeli soldier Agam Berger waves to the crowd as she is handed over to the Red Cross by masked Islamic Jihad militants at the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza City, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Mohammed Hajjar) Israeli soldier Agam Berger waves to the crowd as she is handed over to the Red Cross by masked Islamic Jihad militants at the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza City, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Mohammed Hajjar) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More People react as they watch broadcast of the release of Israeli soldier Agam Berger, one of eight hostages set to be released today as part of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) People react as they watch broadcast of the release of Israeli soldier Agam Berger, one of eight hostages set to be released today as part of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More For more than 15 months, Israelis have been riveted by the ordeals of the hostages. Each release has brought an outpouring of relief, intertwined with frustration and sorrow over the dozens who remain captive. For Palestinians, the releases of those imprisoned by Israel bring an end to years of separation. Palestinians view the prisoners released as heroes who have sacrificed for the cause of ending Israels decades-long occupation of their land.In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a cheering crowd lifted Zakaria Zubeidi onto their shoulders after his release. Zubeidi thrilled Palestinians and stunned the Israeli security establishment with a dramatic jailbreak alongside other prisoners in 2021, though they were all soon recaptured. Zaharia Zubeidi , former leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed offshoot of the secular Fatah party, center, is greeted upon his arrival after being released from an Israeli prison in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) Zaharia Zubeidi , former leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed offshoot of the secular Fatah party, center, is greeted upon his arrival after being released from an Israeli prison in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Zubeidi once headed an armed militia and was imprisoned in the early 2000s for attacks on Israelis. After serving his time, he said he set aside militancy for political activism and opened a theater for cultural resistance in the Jenin refugee camp. Israel arrested him again in 2019 for alleged involvement in attacks on settlers, though in the six years since he was not tried.Those released included 30 serving life sentences for deadly attacks against Israelis, all but seven of whom were immediately sent into exile. Hamas fighters are greeted as they arrive in pick-up trucks to the site of the hand over of hostage Agam Beger to the Red Cross at the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza City, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Mohammed Hajjar) Hamas fighters are greeted as they arrive in pick-up trucks to the site of the hand over of hostage Agam Beger to the Red Cross at the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza City, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Mohammed Hajjar) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More People surround the cars carrying Israeli Gadi Mozes and Arbel Yahoud, who have been held hostages by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, as they are escorted by Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters as they are handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) People surround the cars carrying Israeli Gadi Mozes and Arbel Yahoud, who have been held hostages by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, as they are escorted by Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters as they are handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters contain the crowd as cars carrying Israeli Gadi Mozes and Arbel Yahoud, who have been held hostages by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, are escorted to be handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters contain the crowd as cars carrying Israeli Gadi Mozes and Arbel Yahoud, who have been held hostages by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, are escorted to be handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Israeli soldier Agam Berger walks next to masked Islamic Jihad militants as she is handed over to the Red Cross at the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza City, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Mohammed Hajjar) Israeli soldier Agam Berger walks next to masked Islamic Jihad militants as she is handed over to the Red Cross at the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza City, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Mohammed Hajjar) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Hamas fighters arrive in a pick-up truck to the site of the hand over of hostage Agam Beger to the Red Cross at the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza City, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Mohammed Hajjar) Hamas fighters arrive in a pick-up truck to the site of the hand over of hostage Agam Beger to the Red Cross at the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza City, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Mohammed Hajjar) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More A crowd surrounds Red Cross cars as they arrive at the site for the handover of Thai and Israeli hostages in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) A crowd surrounds Red Cross cars as they arrive at the site for the handover of Thai and Israeli hostages in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters hold their weapons as cars carrying Israeli Gadi Mozes and Arbel Yahoud, who have been held hostages by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, are escorted to be handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters hold their weapons as cars carrying Israeli Gadi Mozes and Arbel Yahoud, who have been held hostages by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, are escorted to be handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Two Thai captives, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, are escorted by Hamas fighters as they are handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Two Thai captives, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, are escorted by Hamas fighters as they are handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Freed hostage Shani Goren, fourth left, and friends of Israeli hostage Arbel Yehoud react as they watch the broadcast of her being released from Hamas captivity, in Carmei Gat, southern Israel, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) Freed hostage Shani Goren, fourth left, and friends of Israeli hostage Arbel Yehoud react as they watch the broadcast of her being released from Hamas captivity, in Carmei Gat, southern Israel, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Gadi Moses, 80, center right, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters as he is handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Gadi Moses, 80, center right, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters as he is handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants secure the area as Red Cross representatives wait for the handover of Thai and Israeli hostages in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants secure the area as Red Cross representatives wait for the handover of Thai and Israeli hostages in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More An Israeli military helicopter carrying five Thai hostages released from Gaza lands at Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh) in Beer Yaakov, Israel, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo) An Israeli military helicopter carrying five Thai hostages released from Gaza lands at Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh) in Beer Yaakov, Israel, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Crowd greets Palestinian prisoners after being released from Israeli prison following a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) Crowd greets Palestinian prisoners after being released from Israeli prison following a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More A Palestinian prisoner is greeted after being released from an Israeli prison, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Thursday January. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) A Palestinian prisoner is greeted after being released from an Israeli prison, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Thursday January. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More A freed Palestinian prisoner waves as he arrives in the Gaza Strip after being released from an Israeli prison following a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in Khan Younis, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) A freed Palestinian prisoner waves as he arrives in the Gaza Strip after being released from an Israeli prison following a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in Khan Younis, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Zaharia Zubeidi , former leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed offshoot of the secular Fatah party, center, is greeted upon his arrival after being released from an Israeli prison in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) Zaharia Zubeidi , former leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an armed offshoot of the secular Fatah party, center, is greeted upon his arrival after being released from an Israeli prison in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More A Palestinian prisoner is greeted upon his arrival after being released from an Israeli prison in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) A Palestinian prisoner is greeted upon his arrival after being released from an Israeli prison in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Headquarters is seen in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)2025-01-31T20:00:28Z WASHINGTON (AP) Trump administration officials are moving to fire FBI agents engaged in investigations involving President Donald Trump in the coming days, two people familiar with the plans said Friday.It was not clear how many agents might be affected, though scores of investigators were involved in various inquiries touching Trump. Officials acting at the direction of the administration have been working to identify individual employees who participated in politically sensitive investigations for possible termination, said the people who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations.The terminations would be a major blow to the historic independence from the White House of the nations premier federal law enforcement agency and would reflect the Trumps determination to bend the law enforcement and intelligence community to his will. Its part of a startling pattern of retribution waged on federal government employees, following the forced ousters of a group of senior FBI executives earlier this week as well as a mass firing by the Justice Department of prosecutors on special counsel Jack Smiths team who investigated Trump. The FBI Agents Association called the planned firings outrageous actions by acting officials are fundamentally at odds with the law enforcement objectives outlined by President Trump and his support for FBI Agents. Dismissing potentially hundreds of Agents would severely weaken the Bureaus ability to protect the country from national security and criminal threats and will ultimately risk setting up the Bureau and its new leadership for failure, the association said in a statement. The FBI and Smiths team investigated Trump over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Both of those cases resulted in indictments that were withdrawn after Trumps November presidential win because of longstanding Justice Department policy prohibiting the federal prosecution of a sitting president. The Justice Department also brought charges against more than 1,500 Trump supporters who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, though Trump on his first day in office granted clemency to all of them including the ones convicted of violent crimes through pardons, sentence commutations and dismissals of indictment.A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment, and an FBI spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.The firings would be done over the will of the acting FBI director Brian Driscoll, who has indicated that he objects to the idea, the people said. ERIC TUCKER Tucker covers national security in Washington for The Associated Press, with a focus on the FBI and Justice Department and the special counsel cases against former President Donald Trump. twitter mailto ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Richer is an Associated Press reporter covering the Justice Department and legal issues from Washington. twitter mailto

Boys sit next to a mural of Shiite clerics Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr, left, and Mohammad Sadiq al-Sadr, right, in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, April 6, 2013, painted over a portrait of former dictator Saddam Hussein. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim, File)2025-01-31T18:57:25Z BAGHDAD (AP) Iraqs National Security Agency said Friday it arrested a former high-level security official for his involvement in the 1980 execution of a prominent Shiite cleric and his sister during Saddam Hussein s brutal crackdown on religious opposition.Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr was a leading Iraqi Shiite cleric and political critic who opposed the secular Baathist government of the former Iraqi president. His opposition intensified following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, which heightened Saddams fears of a Shiite-led uprising in Iraq.In 1980, as the government moved against Shiite activists, al-Sadr and his sister Bint al-Huda a religious scholar and activist who spoke out against government oppression were arrested. Reports indicate they were tortured before being executed by hanging on April 8, 1980. The government refused to return their bodies, fearing their graves would become rallying points for resistance. Al-Sadrs execution deepened Shiite opposition to Saddam, fueling movements that contributed to the Baathist governments eventual downfall. The primary suspect in al-Sadrs execution, Saadoun Sabri Jamil Jumaa al-Qaisi, was among five people detained five months ago, a security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly, told The Associated Press. Al-Qaisi held high-ranking positions under Saddam, including director of state security and director of security in the port city of Basra as well as the central city of Najaf. He is accused of overseeing al-Sadrs detention and execution. After the 2003 fall of Saddams government, al-Qaisi fled to Syria, assuming the alias Hajj Saleh to evade prosecution, the security source said. He returned to Iraq on Feb. 26, 2023, and was arrested in Erbil 44 years after the execution.According to the Iraqi National Security Agency, al-Qaisi faces a potential death sentence. A final verdict is expected next week.Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani praised the arrest on X, saying, We reaffirm our commitment to tracking down criminals, no matter how long they have been on the run.

Mifepristone tablets are seen in a Planned Parenthood clinic Thursday, July 18, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)2025-01-31T18:37:19Z BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) A New York doctor was indicted by a Louisiana grand jury on Friday for allegedly prescribing an abortion pill online in the Deep South state, which has one of the strictest near-total abortion bans in the country. Grand jurors at the District Court for the Parish of West Baton Rouge issued an indictment against Dr. Margaret Carpenter; her company, Nightingale Medical, PC; and a third person. All three were charged with criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs, a felony.The case appears to be the first instance of criminal charges against a doctor accused of sending abortion pills to another state, at least since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and opened the door for states to have strict anti-abortion laws.Carpenter was also sued by the Texas attorney general in December under similar allegations of sending pills to that state. That case did not involve criminal charges. Carpenter did not immediately return a message.The indictment comes just months after Louisiana became the first state with a law to reclassify both mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled dangerous substances. The drugs are still allowed, but medical personnel have to go through extra steps to access them. Under the legislation, if someone knowingly possesses mifepristone or misoprostol without a valid prescription for any purpose, they could be fined up to $5,000 and sent to jail for one to five years. The law carves out protections for pregnant women who obtain the drug without a prescription to take on their own. I have said it before and I will say it again: We will hold individuals accountable for breaking the law, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, a Republican, said in a statement on Friday. Since the fall of Roe v. Wade, Louisiana has had a near-total abortion ban, without any exceptions for rape or incest. Under the law, physicians convicted of performing an illegal abortion, including one with pills, face up to 15 years in prison, $200,000 in fines and the loss of their medical license. Make no mistake, since Roe v Wade was overturned, weve witnessed a disturbing pattern of interference with womens rights, the Abortion Coalition of Telemedicine, where Carpenter is one of the founders, said in a statement. Its no secret the United States has a history of violence and harassment against abortion providers, and this state-sponsored effort to prosecute a doctor providing safe and effective care should alarm everyone.Fridays indictment could be the first direct test of New Yorks shield laws, which are intended to protect prescribers who use telehealth to provide abortion pills to patients in states where abortion is banned.We always knew that overturning Roe v. Wade wasnt the end of the road for anti-abortion politicians. Thats why I worked with the Legislature to pass nation-leading laws to protect providers and patients, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a prepared release.Attorney General Letitia James, who would enforce the shield law, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Pills have become the most common means of abortion in the U.S., accounting for nearly two-thirds of them by 2023. Theyre also at the center of political and legal action over abortion. In January, one judge let three states continue to challenge federal government approvals for how one of the drugs usually involved can be prescribed.___Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Associated Press reporter Michael Hill in Albany, New York, also contributed. GEOFF MULVIHILL Mulvihill covers topics on the agendas of state governments across the country. He has focused on abortion, gender issues and opioid litigation. twitter mailto